McLaren Lauds Its Hero 50 Years On

McLaren is celebrating its Formula 1 heroes and history with a 50th anniversary campaign. An online video charts some of the pivotal moments in the team’s history kicking off at one of McLaren’s earliest factories, a humble south London workshop, before following the tragedy of New Zealander Bruce McLaren’s premature death in 1970, and the incredible successes in the 1970s and ’80s that established McLaren as one of F1’s most pre-eminent constructors.

Spanish Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso says in the video: “I grew up watching McLaren racing in Formula 1 – those memories are part of who I am; they mark a point in my life that I’ll always remember fondly. To be racing in Monaco on the 50th anniversary of McLaren’s very first grand prix will be a powerful and inspiring feeling for me.

“It’s hard to believe that the whole team in Monaco back in 1966 comprised only six people – including Bruce and his wife! – but it’s proof of how much you can grow and develop something with sheer passion and determination.”

British driver Jenson Button also commented, saying: “McLaren is part of the very fabric of grand prix racing, and it’s appropriate and fitting that the team celebrates its 50th anniversary in Formula 1 in Monte-Carlo – the very place at which Bruce McLaren contested the team’s first-ever race, back in 1966.

“Despite its roots in New Zealand, McLaren feels like the quintessential British grand prix team – it’s been based in the UK for its entire lifetime – half a century – and has a set of values and sense of sporting fair-play unlike any other team in Formula 1.”

Original article by Motorsport.com, May 26, 2016.