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That was the weekend that was

The Spanish Grand Prix according to social media

Racing is tough, brutal even, but on a weekend where it felt like everything was going against us, our fans inspired us to keep on fighting.

Lando, suffering from tonsillitis, called it "one of the hardest" of his career. Yet somehow, he produced a terrific recovery drive from 11th to eighth in what must have felt like a marathon of a race on Sunday with temperatures hitting the high 30s.

For Daniel, it was a race-long battle with grip that proved the bane of his Spanish Grand Prix, but a vow to get to the bottom of that issue was followed by the calming reassurance that the upgrades we took with us to Barcelona allowed us to take a step forward in terms of performance.

And with less than a week until we’re back out on track again, we won’t have to wait long for a chance to prove that.

Hopefully, Monaco won’t be quite as hot, though…

After a sojourn in the states for the Miami Grand Prix, it felt good to be back in Europe and surrounded by such a strong show of support in Spain. 

But before the weekend had even begun, Lando had already gotten himself in trouble with the headteacher… 

It was a close call, but thankfully Spain was officially declared a grand prix by the arrival of a giant cardboard cut-out of Daniel Avocado.

We let one of our Admins loose on the McLaren App in Barcelona – does anyone recognise him? Or know where he took our Samsung?  

Qualifying was a mixed bag. Daniel made it to Q3, finishing ninth, but Lando was out in Q2 after his lap time was deleted for exceeding track limits, putting him 11th on the starting grid. However, your support ensured our heads never dropped. 

Sunday was very warm… But luckily, we’re innovators here at McLaren and came up with a hi-tech solution.

While we agree with the sentiment, all we can say is we’re glad that Twitter isn’t Smell-O-Vision… 

Lando was feeling under the weather, but the papaya family rallied and motivated the battling Brit to put on an inspired performance.

On a tough afternoon, his overtake of Sebastian Vettel for eighth at Turn 1 was a moment to savour.

It may not have been Daniel’s day, but our favourite Honey Badger overtook Mark Webber for grand prix starts, making him Australia’s most experienced F1 driver. 

Proud of you, DR.

A four-point haul may not have been the result we were after, but we can’t fault the commitment shown by everyone involved.

When the team needs a boost, you never fail to deliver.

You were turtle-y amazing (yes, we know it’s a tortoise, but you tortoise to be creative).

We could have all done with a hug from one of these teddys.

Time to stick this on repeat until Monaco.

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