Oliver WhiteContinuing the feel good factor that Thursday has brought to Formula One, I can now report that McLaren, who are now located at the far end of the Spanish pit lane, invited their neighbours over for a cup of tea and a slice of cake. The neighbourly gesture was taken up by about 20 members of each team (Force India and Super Aguri) and Aguri driver Anthony Davidson took full advantage to see how the other half live.
McLaren had been given spot five on the pit lane for the first three races of the season, but a letter from Max Mosley urging Bernie Ecclestone to stay true to his previous way of ordering things meant that McLaren have now been squeezed in at the other end. However, McLaren appear to be taking it well and said at the time that it didn’t really bother them. Presumably they had been expecting this since September last year when they were thrown out of the constructors championship – the reason why the move around for the Woking team.
Guests of McLaren got to enjoy the luxurious surroundings of their Brand Centre, a huge construction that dominates the far end of the paddock. The team’s head of Communications and Public Relations and former editor of F1 Racing publication, Matt Bishop, said that the afternoon went well and the vibe was friendly.
The lads and lasses of Super Aguri and Force India are a great bunch, so we thought we’d invite them round for a cup of tea and a few slices of cake. About 20 people from each team turned up, and the vibe was really friendly. Matt Bishop.
Anthony Davidson also enjoyed his time in the temporary building, although being a racing driver who is hoping to be in action this weekend, stuck to the apple juice.
It was the first time I’d been inside the famous ‘Brand Centre’, and I was very impressed. And the apple juice was delicious – I gather it’s produced to Ron Dennis’s personal specification. Anthony Davidson.
I hear on the grapevine that next on Ron’s list is a Neighbourhood Watch scheme with once-fortnightly meetings.
Sounds like a great idea from McLaren. Drinks and cake on a Thursday with all sorts of teams mixing with one another that are normally at each other’s throats.
How better to recruit some new spies?
Or perhaps trying to get a feel for who they’d like to poach if either team hits the rocks?
Sorry, Couldn’t resist
I can see the latter conspiracy theory carrying some weight… …though I imagine the more immediate goals are to give McLaren some good PR and more goodwill in the paddock. On the evidence, I would suggest that the first of those goals has been achieved if nothing else.
[…] on from their successful attempts of neightbourly love at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier in the year, McLaren have once again welcomed their next-door neighbours over for tea and […]