GB3 Championship leader Louis Sharp went behind the scenes at the McLaren Technology Centre on Monday (9 September), with the British-born New Zealander enjoying an up-close look at one of F1’s most revered facilities.
Sharp received the tour courtesy of long-time Pole Position Cup award provider John Cavill, who elected to provide the experience to the driver leading the championship standings at the midway point of the season (following the Hungaroring event in June).
The experience started with a look at the team’s incredible heritage on the famous Boulevard, with numerous race-winning F1 machines mixed with other cars from McLaren’s range including the legendary F1 supercar plus the contemporary Artura and 750S models.
After a thorough grounding of how fellow Kiwi Bruce McLaren established the team in the early 1960s, Sharp was brought fully up to-date with a view of the McLaren Shadow Esports facility. An in depth look at the real world followed during a tour of the Racing department, including a close-up look at the rebuilding process of Ayrton Senna’s final race-winning MP4/8 machine from 1993.
Sharp was also given a look at the Mission Control facility, where vital strategy decisions are made during an F1 race weekend.
Trips to the wind tunnel, the team’s extensive trophy collection and a bird’s eye view of the impressive McLaren Automotive facility followed, providing career inspiration for one of the sport’s brightest up and coming racing talents.
“It’s been amazing and mind-blowing” Sharp said afterwards. “A big thank you to McLaren for letting us come to have a look and to John Cavill for providing the opportunity.
“It was really cool to get a bit of insight on what goes on behind the scenes and I’ve enjoyed every second of it, it’s definitely somewhere I’d love to return to in the future.
“To see how many people work here and seeing all the things they do was incredible. When you watch Formula One on the TV you don’t really know what’s going on behind the scenes, and so it was really valuable to see what it takes to get to the top of the sport.”
John Cavill wishes to thank Zak Brown for making the visit possible.