Does the racing season ever really stop?

Simple answer: No. Right now, the action is only ramping up.

Behind the scenes, every team is working hard to get ready for the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Part of that preparation for the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team includes the Team Launch from February 6-8, when they’ll finally reveal the liveries of their three full-time entries.

Last week, we shared a story from the McLaren Brand Creative Studio featuring how the liveries are designed; this week, the focus is on the people at the race shop dedicated to wrapping the liveries ahead of Team Launch, testing and the first race on the streets of St. Petersburg.

This all has to be done in the weeks ahead. So, let’s hear from Steffi Downer, Liam Stratton and Dylan Robertson on what’s to come before March 10 in Florida.

“The liveries this year each have a separate personality,” Steffi, Lead, Vinyl said. “This year’s liveries have the perfect balance of papaya letting all fans quickly distinguish that those are Arrow McLaren cars riding up front.”

Ahead of each racing season, the fans are eager to see the upcoming liveries, just as much as everyone behind the curtain is to show them off.

Liam Stratton, Vinyl Graphic Design Technician, has been with the team since October 2022 and is heading into his second Team Launch, which he says is one of his favorite moments of the year.

“Getting the first glimpse into new liveries each year is always one of the more exciting times for us,” Liam said. “Things that always stand out to me each year is how we collaborate our acclaimed papaya color with others throughout all our liveries all season long. The fans are always able to pick the Arrow McLaren cars from the field with our vibrant color palette and the way our liveries unite together.”

In order to prepare from race weekend to race weekend, the vinyl team at Arrow McLaren  needs to be able to make changes quickly. When it comes to wrapping a car versus painting, there are advantages and disadvantages.

“Many people do not realize how big of an impact any additions to the car have on weight,” Steffi said. “Weight is synonymous with speed, and this factor plays a big part in the team’s decisions to wrap cars in vinyl or to paint.

“Having the vinyl available allows for the team to change over in a timely manner and to keep the cars looking their best race to race.”

While painting the cars may be preferred by engineers, the realistic timeline of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule proves that scenario to be difficult.

“It can be a very tight window to get cars wrapped with different partners and color combinations that, in the timeframe given, paint just couldn’t be done in time,” Dylan, Vinyl Technician, said.

It takes a team-wide effort to make this all come to life.

Starting at the McLaren Brand Creative Studio in the United Kingdom, every detail is matched to fit what you see during the Team Launch to what you see at the racetrack.

“Once the design process reaches the draft stage, our graphics team will take certain aspects of a design, whether it is the car liveries or any pit equipment, and test any patterns or angles to turn the design we see on our computer screens into real life,” Liam said.

“Once designs get approval, that is when we start to produce color samples to send out to patterns for approval, as well as laying out any templates to help for a smooth and efficient installation process.”

Everything is designed. Everything is approved. Everything is ready.

So… How long does it take to wrap each car?

“As you can imagine, wrapping a car can take quite a while,” Dylan said. “It’s usually at least an eight to 10-hour process from start to finish. Wrapping the base colors takes the most time due to the complex curves on the car.

“Once the base colors are applied, we can then focus on the partner decals which for one car takes about an hour to complete. Once the car is completely done, we will double check the car with our Partnerships team to ensure all decals are properly in place.”

A small team of three handle multiple race cars, pit equipment, transporters and more throughout the season.

How does it all get done from weekend to weekend?

“The graphics team could not begin to do our job if not for the detailed design and partner list and locations provided by the teams in UK and US,” Steffi said. “The whole idea of liveries and design is to give the team identity and personality. Our team tries to recreate this personality as accurately as possible.

“These three roles are key in the graphics department, working together to create the car liveries fans will recognize and cheer for every weekend.”