"I felt like I was home."

People have travelled for hundreds of miles from all around the country to be here, and yet so many of them said the same thing: that for two days in July in Trafalgar Square, London, they all felt at home.

The aim had been simple: bring motorsport to the masses. Very few fans are lucky enough to attend a Formula 1 Grand Prix in their lifetimes, so we wanted to find a way to bring the paddock to more people, to put on an event that could bring as many McLaren fans together as possible.

On Wednesday, 2 and Thursday, 3 July, ahead of our home Grand Prix, we took over Trafalgar Square in London and painted it papaya.

“As soon as I walked in, there was this feeling of exhilaration. I was putting my McLaren top on in the queue, and I felt like I was home,” says Tazmeen, a long-time McLaren fan, who attended McLaren Racing Live: London. “You see other people wearing McLaren merch, and you feel that you are a part of a community. It’s an amazing feeling.”

“I was the first one here at 7am, waiting by the gates,” Xenia says, pausing briefly, before adding with a chuckle: “I went straight to the simulator, did three, four laps on that, and crashed straight into the wall."

We met hundreds of fans across the two days, some for only a few minutes, while others we were chatting to for up to an hour. During the event, we tried to get the perspective of as many different people as possible, asking them to help us paint a picture of what it was like to attend McLaren Racing Live: London as a fan.

 

Feeling the full force of Papaya Army 🧡#McLaren | #NeverStopRacing pic.twitter.com/l3Ays03Ynx

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) August 6, 2025

“You’re in a crowd with so many other people who all have something in common, whom you’ve never met before,” added Rachel, who says she rediscovered her love of Formula 1 and McLaren just two years ago, having previously watched it with her grandfather when she was a child.

Hannah, who comes from a family of McLaren fans, adds: “I work in London, and have seen papaya everywhere today. It was like: ‘Oh, there’s papaya there, and there… and papaya there too. Oh, there’s someone in a McLaren top, and there’s a Lando or Oscar top’. It’s really cool. There’s this community that you see online, but you’re never together in person. Now we’re here, it is like ‘woah, all of these people like the same team as me.”

Thankfully, the famously indecisive British weather has been kind to us. It’s a beautiful, warm, bright sunny day, and most importantly, it’s dry.

We’re in a playground built for racing fans, surrounded by papaya tops and McLaren race cars. Free to enter, McLaren Racing Live was designed to be a completely fan-first experience and accessible for all types of supporters, whether you’re an avid member of the Papaya Army, or a more casual fan, curious to learn more.

“When you see the cars on TV, I don’t think you realise just how big they are,” Hannah says. “I walked past the 2023 car and was like, ‘Wow, the tyre is the width of me'. It's crazy, but it is really cool to see them and to be that close to history, because these cars have done some incredible things.”

Xenia says: “It is amazing to be this close to the cars… to see the LEGO car in person and how much hard work had gone into it. You could even see where it had contact in Miami.”

“Lewis Hamilton’s Championship-winning car is behind me, and I've been a fan of McLaren since Lewis Hamilton started with the team in 2007.” Says Lucy-Jessica. “It’s also been nice to see cars from different series, such as Formula E and IndyCar.” 

As we’re talking, the team begins to fire up Ayrton Senna’s World Championship-winning MP4/4. The noise is deafening, but it draws in a huge crowd.   

“To get close to some of the most legendary cars in Formula 1 is a really, really cool experience,” Brody says.  

Rachel adds: “There's so much legacy here. I'm from the same hometown as Lewis Hamilton, so it was crazy to see that car.” 

It’s hard for fans to know where to look. Everyone is trying to keep one eye on the stage, hoping for a famous McLaren face or two, but as you wander around Trafalgar Square, every element catches your eye.

Merch stands and food stalls take up only a small part of the space, which is dominated by immersive experiences.

Look to your right, and fans are competing against one another on racing simulators. Look to your left and you’ll see others facing off on the Batak Reaction challenge. Above us, groups of fans are being taken on a tour of the McLaren Racing Garage, where our selection of McLaren Racing cars is situated. In the distance, you can hear the roar of our pit-stop challenge.

That’s not all, either, with many of our partners joining us to host McLaren-themed interactive activations, including SEGA and Sonic the Hedgehog, DP World, Hilton, Dropbox, and Jack Daniel’s.

 

Bring on day ✌️ at Trafalgar Square 🧡#McLarenRacingLive | #NeverStopRacing pic.twitter.com/5dgDYSeh3R

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 3, 2025

“I've literally done everything,” Danny says. “My favourite was the pit-stop challenge, but I loved the Sonic Racing challenge.” 

Hannah says: “I want to do the pit-stop challenge because there’s a running joke that I think I'm on the pit-stop team. I'm not… I couldn’t lift one of those tyres! But I would quite like to have a go at that.” 

McLaren’s 1998 and ’99 Formula 1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen takes to the stage, where he’s greeted by an almighty cheer from the crowd. The Flying Finn is one of several McLaren stars to have attended the event, along with fellow former McLaren driver and Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle, our Development Drivers, our Formula E Team, and our Sim Racing Team.

“He’s my all-time favourite driver, Mika Häkkinen,” Danny says. “He's the driver who got me into Formula 1 and McLaren. I really wanted to hear from him. I was so excited.” 

The undisputed headliners were Lando, Oscar, Zak Brown, and Andrea Stella, who attracted an incredible crowd on Wednesday ahead of their journey to the British Grand Prix. By the time they stepped onto the stage, Trafalgar Square was packed to the brim with the Papaya Army, while many more watched on from outside of the event, each person hanging on their every word.  

“It was crazy,” Xenia says, “Oscar showed up really early, he just appeared on stage, and everyone started screaming and chanting his name. But every person who went onto the stage had their name cheered, which was really nice.”

“It was so exciting to see drivers in person who you normally only see on TV,” Brody says. “Such a good experience.”

Georgia says: “I came on the Wednesday to see what was happening, I arrived at five and Oscar was on the stage, doing some sim racing. Afterwards, they had all of the Development Drivers on stage, which was really awesome because I love Formula 2 and Formula 3, so hearing from them was just brilliant.”

It’s the sense of community that shines through most. Almost everyone you speak to at the event - regardless of the activities they’ve competed in, the prizes they’ve won, or the stars they’ve seen on stage - says their highlight is the people they’ve met and the sheer amount of papaya they’ve seen.

 

Told you 🤩#McLarenRacingLive | #NeverStopRacing | @GooglePixel_US https://t.co/Og6e819mFk pic.twitter.com/3AckGnaObU

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 2, 2025

Tazmeen says: “Even when I was in the queue, I made friends. I came on Wednesday to see Lando and Oscar from the outside through the mesh gates, and I was making friends. We were all sharing our love for McLaren.”

“We’re all mingling and getting to know each other,” Nihal says. “I’ve already done most of the activities, so now I’m just roaming around with my new mates. We might go somewhere else together afterwards.”

“To see all of these other people and to know I’m not the only one is brilliant,” says Theo. “My bedroom is papaya… and now I’m here and everyone is wearing papaya. It’s awesome.”