Iconic F1 sponsor at centre of football shirt saga after last-minute change
Lando Norris (McLaren MCL35M) in action at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix
Gulf Oil, the Williams F1 sponsor and the company behind McLaren’s stunning 2021 Monaco Grand Prix livery, has found itself at the centre of a saga over its football shirt sponsorship of Swansea City.
Swansea, the Welsh club currently competing in the Championship, second tier of English soccer, released their third kit for the new season earlier this week.
Gulf football kit released after special McLaren, Williams F1 liveries
The shirt, which carries the Gulf logo, features the instantly recognisable light-blue-and-orange colours of the oil company, with a large orange stripe running down the middle.
In a statement to mark the launch of the shirt, Swansea said that the ‘the vibrant design reflects the numerous famous Gulf motorsport liveries that have adorned some of the greatest racing cars in history, such as the Ford GT40, Porsche 917 and the McLaren F1 GTR.’
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McLaren ran a one-off Gulf livery at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, with Williams running a similar design at the Singapore, Japanese and Qatar grands prix in 2023.
Despite being well received, it has emerged that the Swansea third kit may have forced a last-minute change of plan for Ebbsfleet United, who were forced to redesign their new away kit earlier this summer.
Ebbsfleet originally produced a blue-and-orange away kit for the 2025/26 season, featuring a similar orange stripe running down the middle of the shirt.
However, Ebbsfleet announced on June 5 that the kit had been taken ‘off sale for a short period of time’ to allow kit supplier Admiral ‘to make some design alterations.’
The away kit was relaunched on June 27 with the orange stripe replaced by yellow.
In a statement, Ebbsfleet said that ‘the design change is due to the impending release of a similar kit in the global market which was only brought to our attention after our initial, well-received kit launch, and it was suggested that the design be altered.’
It is unclear who made the suggestion to change Ebbsfleet’s away kit.
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McLaren reunited with Gulf in July 2020 when the oil company joined as a strategic partner, having previously worked together in F1 and Can-Am racing in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Gulf colours also adorned the McLaren F1 GTR car at the 1997 Le Mans 24 Hours.
The oil giant switched allegiance to Williams in 2023, with the team holding a vote for fans to decide on a special Gulf livery for three races that season.
Gulf extended its partnership with Williams ahead of the F1 2025 campaign.
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