Eric Boullier has confirmed rumours that McLaren will change livery colour for 2017.

With the exit of Ron Dennis, who was vocally opposed to reverting to the British team's iconic orange, McLaren are now hinting at the change with graphics on social media and their official website.

"You will see a change in the colour," team boss Boullier confirmed. "Wait a few days and you'll find out [what]."

Of more interest to many people, however, is whether the Anglo-Japanese collaboration can be much more competitive in 2017, after two particularly bad years with Honda power.

Boullier was quoted by La Repubblica newspaper at a Pirelli event in Turin as saying: "We could be the outsider, the surprise of the season.

"Honda is working well on the engines and of those who could compete for the title alongside Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari, we could be there as well."

Spain's El Mundo Deportivo also quoted the Frenchman as saying: "For McLaren it's a whole new car and a brand new engine, but we are not starting from scratch because we used past experience to make progress."

McLaren came sixth in the 2016 constructors' championship.