McLaren is signing off from 2023 with this artwork livery

McLaren has revealed its final bespoke livery of 2023, which will be worn under the lights at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and finale to the F1 season.

There have been a lot of special-occasion vinyl wraps on the grid this year, and McLaren alone has chipped in with three: remember the Triple Crown, Chrome and Stealth Mode efforts at Monaco, Silverstone and Singapore?

This is the fourth: an artwork-inspired livery created by artist Nujood Al-Otaibi, whose style is driven by a hearing impairment suffered as a child.

“Everywhere I go, my experience of sound is different,” Al-Otaibi explains. “Once, on a trip to the beach with friends, I realised I could hear them clearly without my hearing aid. I can’t explain why it happened, but since that moment, the beach has been a constant source of inspiration for my art.”

Apply that philosophy to an F1 car - well, the sidepods and front wing of one - and you get this. Anyone else wish the teams didn’t have to be quite so strict with the exposed carbon fibre?

Apparently the design takes inspiration from the sand dunes and ocean waves of Al-Otaibi’s hometown, with a technique developed through years of practice.

The livery - which came together after months of work that began in the summer - is part of the Driven By Change campaign backed by McLaren and sponsor Vuse, with the idea of showcasing up-and-coming artists through the medium of… very, very fast racing cars.

“Driven by Change has given me the opportunity to not only bring [my] experience to life,” says Al-Otaibi, “but to also celebrate my hearing impairment in my own way.”

It’s the third year in a row that McLaren has checked out of an F1 campaign with a livery remix: who recalls this floral scheme from 12 months ago?

Right, this year we’ve seen countless special-ed liveries from Red Bull, Williams, Ferrari, Alpine, Haas, Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri. Phew. Any favourites from that lot, or have we had too much of a good thing?