McLaren unveiled its new MP4-30 today, it’s first Honda-powered car since 1992.

The response has been mixed, if we’re being charitable.

@Motor_Sport @McLarenF1 massive fail. Dull. Boring. Wasted opportunity.

— Laurie Bescheerer (@LaurieBHayes) January 29, 2015

@Motor_Sport zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Where’s the red and white everyone (including McLaren) was hinting at?

— Gavin Brown (@RubberGoat) January 29, 2015

@Motor_Sport @McLarenF1 I can’t work out for the life of me why they persist with the silver now they are divorced from Merc #wewantorange

— Max Scott (@MaxFalconScott) January 29, 2015

@Motor_Sport @McLarenF1 A bit concerned to not see any new sponsors there. Tiny CNN sticker but no love from Japanese companies.

— Vinayak Pande (@VinayakPande) January 29, 2015

@Motor_Sport @McLarenF1 if it is fast then everyone will start loving it. But yes, it is characterless.

— Jim Charlesworth (@charlesworthjim) January 29, 2015

@Motor_Sport@McLarenF1 All kinds of wrong #makehistorycry

— David Cross (@Dav1dx) January 29, 2015

The many, many people calling the livery a wasted opportunity have a point. McLaren had a great chance to put the last couple of uncompetitive seasons behind it with a return to the red and white of the previous Honda era. The fans would’ve loved it, they’re Honda’s colours and it’s one of the most recognisable colour schemes in all of sport, let alone motor racing. Sticking a bit of red on the front won’t do much to keep the team’s fans happy if the car itself isn’t a front-runner.

Neither will pretending your racing drivers are anything but hideously wooden actors. Or associating your new sports car with a DeLorean:

In all seriousness, we do hope that McLaren are competitive this season, for the sake of the sport and two of its best current drivers. They just aren’t going to win many style points along the way.