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McLaren furloughs staff, and its F1 drivers take a pay cut

LONDON — McLaren became the first Formula One team to furlough staff because of the coronavirus on Wednesday, with drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz joining senior management in taking a pay cut. The sportscar maker said in a statement the temporary three-month wage reduction was part of wider cost-cutting measures due to the impact of the pandemic on its business. "These measures are focused on protecting jobs in the short-term to ensure our employees return to full-time work as the economy recovers," McLaren added. A team spokesman emphasized that 100-150 staff from across the group who were working on a "VentilatorChallengeUK" project were not included in the measure. The group, including the luxury carmaker and applied technology arm, employs some 3,700 people with around 850 working for the F1 team. McLaren is part of a consortium of leading aerospace, engineering and Formula One racing companies who have joined forces to ramp up production of a ventilator made by Smiths Group which supports those with complications from the virus. Britain has ordered 10,000 of the breathing machines. The majority of the Formula One team, who are currently on a three-week factory shutdown brought forward from August due to the season being on hold, will be furloughed from next week with McLaren making up some of the difference. Those not furloughed, from McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown downwards, will work on reduced pay. The team spokesman said British 20-year-old Norris and Spaniard Sainz were adamant they too wanted to play their part. With racing unlikely to start until the European summer at the earliest, F1 sources have said the teams — a majority based in Britain — are discussing extending the shutdown. Non-essential businesses are shuttered in Britain because of the virus and the authorities have asked everyone to stay at home. British finance minister Rishi Sunak announced last month that furloughed workers can claim 80% of their wages up to 2,500 pounds ($3,100) per month. Top Premier League clubs have made use of the scheme, drawing criticism from politicians and others questioning the ethics of seeking public money while paying millions to players. McLaren, whose Formula One team are the second most successful after Ferrari in terms of races and championships won, is majority owned by Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat.

Britain orders 10,000 ventilators from F1/McLaren/Mercedes/Ford/Rolls-Royce/Airbus

Paramedics and ambulance personnel get instructions from a command unit outside London's ExCel Centre arena, which is being turned into a 4,000 bed temporary hospital called NHS Nightingale to deal with coronavirus patients. The hospital is due to open Monday, March 30. / AP     LONDON — Britain has ordered 10,000 ventilators from a consortium of leading aerospace, engineering and Formula One racing companies which will start production this week in response to an urgent government call for industry to help save lives. The 27-strong team, including Airbus, BAE Systems, Ford and Rolls-Royce, have joined forces to ramp up production of a ventilator made by Smiths Group, which supports those with complications from COVID-19. The consortium, which also includes seven Formula One teams including McLaren and Mercedes, home to World Champion Lewis Hamilton, said they had pulled staff off existing projects to meet the national need. Some 1,228 people have died from coronavirus in the United Kingdom and a senior health official said on Saturday the country would be doing well if it manages to keep the death toll below 20,000. "This consortium brings together some of the most innovative companies in the world," Dick Elsy, the head of the consortium, said in a statement. "I am confident this consortium has the skills and tools to make a difference and save lives." The United Kingdom, which initially only had 5,000 ventilators available in its National Health Service, has been trying to secure additional supplies after realising it needed 30,000 to cope with the peak of the outbreak. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is now in isolation in Downing Street after testing positive for coronavirus, made an emergency appeal earlier this month for manufacturers to retool their production lines and start making specialist health equipment including ventilators. Britain now has about 8,000 ventilators, with another 8,000 on order from international manufacturers that are due in coming weeks. Last week it placed an order for a newly-designed model from the vacuum cleaner company Dyson that will need to be approved by the health regulator. Mercedes part of a separate effort, too Separately on Monday a second consortium including Mercedes Formula One and other F1 teams said it had developed in less than a week a new version of a breathing aid that can help coronavirus patients.

McLaren F1 GTR Longtail No. 1 is road-ready and listed for sale

The chassis number on this 1996 McLaren F1 GTR Longtail is 19R, but in the order of production, this car is No. 1. It's the first longtail version of the GTR version of what many consider the greatest car ever made. Despite its track-intended build, it's road-legal, and it's currently up for sale in the United Kingdom.  The special nature of 19R goes beyond the fact of its birth order. This car was reportedly used as a development prototype for the entire run of GTR Longtails and participated in numerous Japanese races, including the Suzuka 1000km. According to the listing, it's also only one of two GTR Longtails in private ownership (Nick Mason owns the other), so this is likely one of few occasions in a lifetime when one will be available for purchase. 19R has another first under its belt, too. It was the first GTR Longtail to be converted to a road-legal specification. Gordon Murray, the designer of the F1, worked with Lanzante to turn the racecar version of the road car back into a road car. The unique F1 comes with a Gordon Murray Design book that documents the conversion, as well as the history of the car. All of the parts that were changed were also kept and come as part of a large spare parts package. Although some might not see the value of the color scheme, McLaren painted it this way to draw attention to the differences between the GTR and the GTR Longtail. The vibrant markings exaggerate the changes and earned this car the nickname "Squiggles," according to Tom Hartley Jr.  If the paint scheme looks familiar, it might be because this car has been seen flexing its BMW Motorsport-sourced V12 at the Goodwood hillclimb (seen below). Via Road & Track, the 19R is listed without a price by Tom Hartley Jr. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

McLaren Elva gets another retro paint scheme from McLaren Special Operations

You may have noticed that McLaren's official brand color is a bright shade of orange. That dates back to Bruce McLaren's M6A Can-Am race car of 1967, the first to feature the all-orange paint scheme and the car that helped him win his first Can-Am championship that year. So what better way to honor a wild open-top race car than by painting the wild open-top McLaren Elva supercar in the same color? The McLaren Elva M6A Theme is the second race car-themed Elva to come from McLaren Special Operations (MSO). The group offers customization services to McLaren customers, particularly unique paint and carbon fiber finishes. The special was revealed on Twitter, and it is quite faithful to the 1967 car. It's finished in a unique orange that looks a little less bold with more of a pearl finish than the glowing solid orange of the race car. It's paired with big simple number circles featuring the number "4" like one of the race cars. On the sides, a metallic stripe is added to mimic the chrome divider between the top and bottom sections of the Can-Am car. It also gets the same "McLaren Cars" logo and Bruce McLaren's signature down the side. As cool as this is from a historical standpoint, the orange really shows off how the body blends right into the interior, something McLaren did to evoke the feeling of being outside and exposed to the world, rather than hidden inside the car's cabin. The dark launch color was far less effective at conveying that feeling. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. On track in Bruce’s Can-Am winner As previously mentioned, MSO did another race car-themed Elva, a black and white car inspired by an older 1964 McLaren M1A race car. Clearly there will be one of each, but McLaren hasn't put any limits on the designs, so it's possible there may be multiple examples in the car's 399-unit run. We also wouldn't be surprised if McLaren rolls out some other motorsports-inspired liveries in the future, as it has many famous racecars to pull from. The reddish-orange and white Honda-powered Marlboro F1 cars of the late 1980s and the black and silver Mercedes-powered F1 cars of the early 2000s both seem like strong choices. Or if McLaren doesn't do it themselves, maybe a rich reader could commission one painted as such. Though we wouldn't want to tell that person how to spend their $1.69 million (or more) on their car. Related Video:

F1 cancels season-opening Australian Grand Prix over coronavirus

Workers pack up in pit lane after the cancellation of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, Friday. / AP   MELBOURNE, Australia — As thousands of fans queued to get into the Australian Grand Prix, seemingly unperturbed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Formula One teams and drivers were packing up to leave. The rapid spread of the virus left organizers with little choice Friday but to cancel the season-opening race, particularly after McLaren withdrew because a team member tested positive for the COVID-19 illness and following heavy criticism from six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The two practice sessions that usually showcase what the teams have been improving in the off-season were less than two hours from starting when the decision was publicly announced. Principals of nine F1 teams and organizers met overnight and “concluded with a majority view of the teams that the race should not go ahead," a joint statement by FIA, motorsport's governing body, local organizers and F1 said. “It's been a very fluid situation," F1 chairman Chase Carey said. “We're all disappointed not to have it, but I think we've made the decision we had to make." “It's not like it came out of the blue," Carey told a news conference beside the F1 paddock that ended in light rain. “A week ago, when teams started traveling here, we felt it was the right decision (to stage the race). Clearly the situation changed in the interim." Practice, qualifying and Sunday's race were all scrapped, casting doubt over the Bahrain Grand Prix which is scheduled to be held next week and the Vietnamese GP, scheduled for April 5. Authorities in Bahrain have already said no fans will be allowed into the circuit. Carey said a decision on whether or not to go ahead with the the race would be made in coming days. The Chinese GP has already been postponed from April. Hamilton used the first official news conference with F1 drivers in Melbourne to say he was shocked that organizers planned to proceed with the Australian Grand Prix, which regularly attracts more than 300,000 people over four days. McLaren's decision to withdraw was ultimately the catalyst for the cancellation. That person and 14 other McLaren team members have been placed in quarantine in a Melbourne hotel for 14 days. Hamilton's Mercedes-AMG Petronas team said it sent a letter to the FIA and F1 requesting the cancellation and had commenced preparations to leave before the decision was publicly announced.

McLaren Elva M1A Theme by MSO channels Bruce McLaren's 1964 race car

McLaren Special Operations hit up Twitter to show a version of its new Ultimate Series speedster, christened with the full name of Elva M1A Theme by MSO. The Elva takes its design cues from the M1A race car that Bruce McLaren developed for sports car racing in the 1960s. McLaren first entered his black #4 racer in the 1964 Canadian Grand Prix and put everyone on notice; the M1A equaled the lap record at Mosport Park four times and broke the record seven times. As buyers lined up, McLaren commissioned English firm Elva to build replicas for privateers. Although the historic M1A was an advance on the McLaren's "Jolly Green Giant" Cooper-Oldsmobile, the M1A inaugurated the McLaren lineage that would soon dominate sports car racing. This modern Elva M1A goes about as far as it can to channel its inspiration, adopting the black exterior and red seats of the original — but not the 4.5-liter Oldsmobile engine. Instead of painting the speedster black, MSO took the much better option of coating the carbon fiber bodywork in clearcoat. The only touches of paint are the silver slash and red pinstripe running front to back, splitting into a low runner along the sills, and the white roundel with the race number. We're not sure what's going on with the wheels, though — they're the same design as those on the Elva that launched in November, but in mirror image. The other big splash of color appears on the seats, topped with crimson Alcantara.  MSO didn't mention any limitations on this theme, so it's possible there could be more than one among the 399-unit Elva production run; Bruce McLaren built three works versions of the original M1A, and Elva produced 24 customer cars. And yes, the historic car was powered by an all-aluminum 3.5-liter Oldsmobile V8 that Traco bored out to 4.5 liters, producing 310 horsepower breathing through four Weber carbs. Oldsmobile not being an option anymore, the Elva homage goes with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with 804 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, which helps ensure buyers get their $1.69 million worth. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.    

McLaren withdraws from Australian Grand Prix after positive test for coronavirus

Renault driver Esteban Occon wears a face mask out of coronavirus concerns as he greets fans in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. / Reuters    The McLaren Racing team has withdrawn from this weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix after a team member tested positive for coronavirus, the team said on Friday. The positive test at McLaren follows four crew members of fellow Formula One team Haas being quarantined due to the outbreak. "The team member was tested and self-isolated as soon as they started to show symptoms and will now be treated by local healthcare authorities," McLaren said in a statement. "The team has prepared for this eventuality and has ongoing support in place for its employee who will now enter a period of quarantine. The team is cooperating with the relevant local authorities to assist their investigations and analysis." Both Haas and McLaren are Britain-based teams. Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton said it was "shocking" that the Australian Grand Prix could go ahead amid the threat of the coronavirus and suggested organizers had put financial concerns ahead of people's health. Thousands of fans poured into Albert Park on Thursday as race-week kicked off with practice and qualifying for lower-profile motor sport circuits. The Chinese Grand Prix, which was scheduled for April, has been postponed while the Bahrain GP, the second stop in the F1 calendar, has banned fans from attending the March 22 race.

2021 McLaren 765LT is longer, lighter, and more powerful than the 720S

Supercars are proliferating in England. Built to be equally at home on the road and on the track, the McLaren 765LT picks up where the 675LT left off by giving buyers a lighter and more powerful alternative to the 720S.  LT stands for Longtail, a name inaugurated in the 1990s by the track-only F1 GTR. McLaren redesigned the front splitter, the front bumper, the side skirts, the rear bumper, and the rear diffuser, but the 765LT's most impressive party trick is its hydraulically-operated rear wing. It's bigger than the one fitted to the 720S and it's positioned a little bit higher even when it's resting. The spoiler fully deploys when the driver smashes the brake pedal. McLaren left no avenue unexplored in its quest to remove as much weight as possible. It made the body panels with a lighter, model-specific type of carbon fiber, fitted thinner glass, and removed creature comforts like the stereo as well as the air conditioning system. Fear not, brave commuters: both can be added back at no extra cost. Some of the parts inside the transmission are formed from a high-performance nickel chrome named 20NiCh commonly found in Formula One cars, and McLaren fitted a lithium-ion battery that's 6.6 pounds lighter than the battery in the 720S. All told, the 2,709-pound 765LT weighs 176 pounds less than the 720S, with one catch: buyers need to order the car with the optional, Senna-sourced carbon fiber bucket seats to achieve that figure. The heart of the 765LT is a twin-turbocharged, 4.0-liter V8 engine that makes 755 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and 590 pound-feet of torque at 5,500 rpm. It's bolted to a seven-speed automatic transmission with comfort, sport, and track modes. 60 mph arrives in just 2.7 seconds, while holding the pedal to the floor for 7.2 seconds gets the 765LT to 124 mph. From there, slide your foot from the gas to the brake to decelerate to a complete stop in 361 feet. Or don't, and the V8 will continue screaming its heart out until the speedometer shows 205 mph. McLaren 765LT View 31 Photos The steering is much quicker, carbon ceramic brake discs come standard, specific Pirelli tires provide tremendous grip, and engineers applied lessons learned while developing the Senna and the Speedtail to make the suspension algorithm more precise. Enthusiast who regularly drive on a track will also notice the aerodynamic add-ons give the 765LT about 25% more downforce than the 720S.

McLaren GT by MSO has a cashmere interior and next-level paint job

Because the 2020 Geneva Motor Show is canceled, McLaren declared it will digitally host a McLaren Motor Show on March 3, 2020. The main focus of the livestream will be the "world premier of the next chapter in the McLaren LT story," but a secondary car will also show for the first time. Although it's not a new model, the GT Verdant Theme by MSO gives another example of what bespoke options can look like. The McLaren GT Verdant Theme has a unique paint job that's unlike any other MSO released before it. It's satin, it's tri-color, and it blends in a way that gives the GT an entirely different attitude. Verdant means "green with grass or other rich vegetation" or "of the bright green color of lush grass," and McLaren is 100% on the nose with this one. McLaren says the Verdant GT "revels in a feeling for the verdant landscapes and fresh horizons that the GT has been designed to explore." The exterior combines Horsell Green, Arbor Green and Steppe Green, all colors bespoke to this vehicle. To accomplish the ombre look took 430 hours of prep and paintwork.  Further building on the exterior look, MSO added hand-painted Napier Green pinstripes on the body and the front splitter. The brake calipers match with Napier Green paint, and the MSO Black Pack darkens the wheels, the upper window surround, and the exhaust tips. Inside, McLaren claims the first manufacturer use of cashmere in a supercar. The charcoal grey cashmere covers the center tunnel, the door inserts, the lower dashboard, the sun visors, the head restraints and the upper rear back of the seats. The rest of the seats and cabin are covered in Dark Green, Laurel Green and Jet Black leather, and Laurel Green piping adds an extra layer of contrast.  For those who prefer the GT to have a quieter presence, MSO previously customized one with MSO Defined Flux Silver paint and a Flux White interior. Either route, the options are there, and the $15,000 bespoke GT luggage set will be available to match. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Watch Chris Harris in the electric VW ID.R waste a McLaren 720S

The Volkswagen ID.R doesn't have much in common with a McLaren 720S, other than the fact that they are both performance-crazed cars. One gets its power from batteries, the other from gas. One uses electric motors, the other a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8. One is a halo prototype vehicle, the other is a road-legal supercar available for purchase. So when Chris Harris and "Top Gear" decided to "race" the two against each other, it was more of a demonstration of the VW's unreal capabilities than any sort of real competitive faceoff. In episode five of Top Gear's 28th season, which just aired February 23, the trio of Harris, Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness welcomed Youtuber KSI on the show and ventured out on a luxury sports car road trip with an Aston Martin, Porsche, and Ferrari. Separately, Harris took to the track to test out Volkswagen's golden egg of the moment, the ID.R. As VW fully launches into its electric-vehicle push, the ID.R is meant to exhibit what battery-electric technology is capable of. With two electric motors, one on the front axle and one on the rear axle, the 2,425-pound ID.R has four-wheel drive and makes a claimed 670 horsepower. As Harris notes in the video, the ID.R. was not built for a specific regulation-bogged racing organization or competition, and thus, it's only held back by the rules of Mother Nature and Father Physics. Since the car's debut, it has been annihilating records around the world, including at Pike's Peak, Goodwood, the Nurburgring, and Heaven's Gate. Chris Harris didn't set any records in the ID.R., but he certainly showed how outrageous this machine is. The 710-horsepower 720S can go from zero mph to 62 mph in less than three seconds, and the ID.R has a sizable lead within that same time. Again, this wasn't an instance of test-and-conclude, it was a show of perspective. The ID.R is a race car, so even though the 720S is one of the best supercars in the world, it never stood a chance. See for yourself above. Related Video: