RB driver Liam Lawson has taken issue with the British anthem being played on the Formula 1 podium when McLaren takes race victories, claiming it’s “bullsh*t”.
Lawson has habitually ruffled feathers since his F1 return in the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.
On-track squabbles have occurred with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, but now Lawson has picked a fight with McLaren.
Lawson, himself hailing from New Zealander, has argued that McLaren should play the nation’s anthem in honour of its founder, Bruce McLaren.
“Red Bull play the Austrian national anthem and the team’s based in the UK. McLaren’s based in the UK, but it’s a New Zealand team.
“It’s complete bullsh*t, to be honest.“It makes no sense,” he said on the Red Flags podcast.
“It’s a New Zealand team, the name is still McLaren. I have no idea.
“Honestly, especially if you’re from New Zealand – because Bruce McLaren is an absolute legend.”
Bruce McLaren’s legacy
There’s no arguing that Bruce McLaren is a racing legend with Grand Prix victories, Can-Am titles and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner.
However, since its inception in 1963, McLaren has been based in the United Kingdom and raced under a UK license, granted by the FIA for its entire tenure in the sport.
The debate lies in the subjective opinion of what makes a team British, its base, or its founder.
The team carries Bruce’s legacy regardless of what anthem plays when McLaren adds to its incredible tally of 188 race victories.
A sculpture of its founder rests in McLare’s headquarters in Woking and the cars run the papaya colour scheme that Bruce ran to the team’s first victory at Spa-Francorchamps in 1968, just two years after it entered F1.
Tragically, Bruce lost his life in 1970 in a Can-Am testing crash at Goodwood.
From there, Teddy Mayer took control of the team, overseeing its first title wins with Emreson Fittipaldi and James Hunt in 1974 and ’76.
Mayer was succeeded by Ron Dennis at the end of 1980, proceeding two decades of meteoric rise for the Woking-based outfit.
Today, McLaren Racing is owned two-thirds by the McLaren Group, backed fully by Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund.
The remaining third is owned by US investment firm MSP Sports Capital.
Lawson meanwhile, continues a tradition of F1 racing drivers hailing from New Zealand.
He is the first Kiwi to race in F1 since Brendon Hartley in 2018 and follows in the wake of legends including McLaren, Chris Amon and 1967 Champion Denny Hulme.
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