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McLaren celebrates 20 years of Mobil 1 with special livery for Australian GP

Sponsors come and sponsors go in Formula One, but they tend to stick around awhile at McLaren. The team ran under Marlboro title sponsorship for 22 years from 1974 to 1996, and Hugo Boss has been with the team for 33 years now since 1981. But it's the team's partnership with Mobil 1 which it will celebrate with the sinister livery pictured here. With Vodafone having left the team at the end of last season, McLaren is without a title sponsor for this season, and was expected to return to its heritage orange livery for this year's championship. But instead it's starting the season at the Australian Grand Prix with this silver and black livery to celebrate two decades of partnership with ExxonMobil. It may not be quite as sweet as the new Williams Martini Racing livery, but it is pretty slick. Whether it stands a chance of finishing on the podium this weekend, however, is another matter. While McLaren has won the Australian Grand Prix a dozen times – more than any other team – and Jenson Button is one of the winningest drivers in the history of the Aussie race, he and the team haven't been showing too well in pre-season testing. Mobil 1 and McLaren Celebrate 20-Year Partnership in Formula 1 As the 2014 Formula 1 season kicks off this weekend at the Australian Grand Prix, ExxonMobil and McLaren will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their technical and commercial relationship. In honor of the major milestone, the McLaren Formula 1 cars will feature a special livery in Australia that will include both Mobil 1™ and Mobil™ brands." "To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Mobil 1's relationship with McLaren, we are looking forward to showcasing a special branding scheme during the first race of the 2014 season," said Artis Brown, global motorsports manager, Mobil 1. "There is a lot of energy entering this race. Not only are we celebrating our 20th anniversary with McLaren, but we will be welcoming Kevin Magnussen to the team. When you combine these elements with the introduction of the new V-6 engine, this should be a very exciting weekend." Jonathan Neale, Chief Operating Officer and Acting CEO of McLaren Mercedes said, "We are privileged to have worked closely with ExxonMobil over a very successful 20 years and counting. During 332 races together we have achieved four world championships, 78 wins, 229 podium finishes and 76 pole positions, which is testament to our powerful technology partnership.

2016 McLaren 650S Spider Review [w/video]

All I saw was a cloud of dust. At some point during my 575-mile drive of the 2016 McLaren 650S Spider, I sort of became immune to gawkers. Phones snapped hundreds of pictures and videos, so I imagine I'm semi-famous on exactly 200,000 different Twitstagram accounts by now. But then a kid so intent on capturing my green machine actually drove off the road. Thankfully, he regained control, and in the process was hopefully taught a very important lesson about distracted driving. Probably not. That's what happens when you drive a bright green McLaren through the heartland of America: everyone takes notice. Car enthusiasts or not, every single person I passed in the 650S gave it a second look. Usually they just stared and stared. Or honked. Or tried to race me (and lost – dummies). My road trip was a 575-mile-long case of distracted driving, and all I can say is, "sorry, not sorry." It all started over dinner in New York. I told our McLaren guy that he should send a car to Detroit, and instead of hiring a transportation company, should just let me drive it over. Next thing I knew, I was on a plane to Baltimore with intrepid video producer Chris "Roy Rogers" McGraw, where a $350,000-plus, Mantis Green 650S Spider would be waiting for me by the BWI airport rental car plaza. McLaren cars enter the US through the Port of Baltimore, so it felt right picking up the car there, instead of in New York. Plus, driving this thing through Manhattan seemed like a massive pain in the ass. View 10 Photos No car I've ever driven could draw a crowd like the 650S. No car I've ever driven could draw a crowd like the 650S. It's not uncommon to see supercars rolling through big cities – people don't bat an eye if one drives by in Los Angeles. But in the country, it's a sight to behold. Say what you will about Mac's derivative styling, I think the 650 looks killer. And so did everyone who stopped me on the street. What I found most interesting was, just saying "McLaren" was enough to really draw people in. If they're familiar with the British marque, they haven't heard the name in a really long time. And if the word doesn't ring a bell, they want to know what it's all about. "It's not a Ferrari – it's a McLaren," one guy said to his wife at a rest stop. The brand recognition might still be lower than McLaren would like – everyone instantly thinks it's a Ferrari or Lamborghini – but everyone I met took this car very, very seriously. And you have to take it seriously.

California teens rent McLaren MP4-12C using stolen credit card [UPDATE]

As teenagers, we all entertain the idea of replacing our high school beater with a real car. Alas, for many of us, we are left waiting a few years until we have the disposable income to replace the rusty Pontiac Sunfire we learned to drive on with something more impressive. Maybe a hot hatchback or perhaps a gently used, entry level luxury sedan. A pair of 19 year olds in Santa Rosa, CA, though, just couldn't wait to pick up their very own "cool" car, so they did what any idiotic teenager would do – they swiped a credit card and rented a McLaren MP4-12C. The two teens, Mohannad Halaweh and Nhimia Kahsay, were arrested by Sonoma County Sheriffs after the car, which was allegedly rented for $13,000 using a stolen credit card, was reported stolen. The two also charged $27,000 to rent a $12 million vacation home, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. It's not entirely clear how the two teens were able to fool the unnamed rental car agency into releasing the car to them. Ironically, the arrest happened when Halaweh was leaving a court appearance for (surprise, surprise) credit card fraud, from an earlier incident in which he tried to use an illegally obtained card to purchase $10,000 from the Apple Store. Halaweh and Kahsay are now sitting in Sonoma County Jail, with bail set at $100,000 and $60,000, respectively, and are facing charges of credit card fraud and possession of stolen property. UPDATE: An official statement from Sia Bani, the president of Club Sportiva, the company that rented out the McLaren MP4-12C, has been released and is available below. Club Sportiva helps Santa Rosa police catch credit card thieves As many of you have read online, a repeat identity thief was recently caught in California with stolen credit cards in a McLaren MP4-12C. This was indeed one of Club Sportiva's vehicles. Club Sportiva filed a police report with the San Jose police department once discovering further issues with the claimed identity of the driver, and that led to the prompt arrest of both driver and passenger of the vehicle in Sonoma County. Club Sportiva's policy includes an age restriction to >25 years of age, with exceptions only made to entry level vehicles with an in-person interview with management, and a greater deposit, and only with a clear insurance background check. Our delivery team was provided fake identification and flags were only raised after further due diligence with the credit card company used for the "gifted" experience.