Ever wondered what happens to old F1 cars? We paid a visit to McLaren to find out
, the test bed for Hans Mezger’s legendary Tag-badged V6 twin-turbo screamer of the 1980s.
Those customer cars are the key for the future. Now that things are more settled at the top of McLaren after Dennis’s tumultuous departure, it seems that McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has identified a commercial opportunity. Series One and Series Two cars are not for sale, but other, less victorious cars are available. And that’s where money is to be made, not only in the initial sale but also in the ongoing upkeep and running.
Lall says: “It takes a small army to run them. We’re quite capable of running these [pre-hybrid cars] with the help of Mercedes, but for anything current, I don’t think you’re going to be seeing those running other than with the team itself.” Like when he set all the alarms off at the McLaren Technology Centre because he plugged an old computer into the network that had some ancient malware on it. How did Coates resolve that? “Just quickly unplugged it.” So there you have it, folks: the answer to Terminator 2.It’s interesting that despite this not being a race team, it still operates with that mentality. Not only in the skills and preparation that go into the engineering but also in the mindset.
“There wasn’t a job on the race team, so McLaren kind of created one on the heritage team. It’s an amazing experience, and I’m so glad I got to do it,” he says. That level of detail can only come from working on a car 24/7, living and breathing it, just as Lall and Wheeler did back in the day.As a 38-year McLaren stalwart, Gary Wheeler has been around long enough to be a good judge of who was the best. His answer? Ayrton Senna, without any hesitation.