Thursday, 13 February 2025

Hear from McLaren Shadow drivers Alfie Butcher and Lucas Blakeley after four rounds of racing, as well as Team Manager Joel Chapman.

Round 5 – Silverstone Circuit

Qualified	P11
Finished	P11

Round 6 - Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

Qualified	P2
Finished	P1

Round 7 - Circuit Zandvoort

Qualified	P6
Finished	P10

Round 8 - Circuit of the Americas

Qualified	P10
Finished	P20

“It was an amazing feeling to secure my first win for McLaren. The car felt great and it’s a moment I will definitely remember for the rest of my career. The entire team were pleased with how we managed the race at Spa with lots of good calls from the engineers.

“Despite a frustrating last race at COTA, we can take away some positive from how Event Two went. We improved on our Qualifying performances which was a key objective this week and we'll look to continue more of the same at Event Three next month to finish the season on a high.”

Round 5 – Silverstone Circuit

Qualified	P3
Finished	P5

Round 6 - Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

Qualified	P14
Finished	P18

Round 7 - Circuit Zandvoort

Qualified	P14
Finished	P20

Round 8 - Circuit of the Americas

Qualified	P13
Finished	P11

“Another event in the books after a tight turnaround. Despite frustrating results, we have some highs which are important to take away. I was pleased with my drive at Silverstone, which is my favourite track, and it was great to see Alfie cross the line at Spa for his first win with the team.

“I’ll be working hard over the next few weeks to find improvements going into the final event. We have plenty of opportunities that we can look back on to see what will make us all better for next time, which is important.”

Joel Chapman, Team Manager, McLaren Racing, said:

“We’ve concluded Event Two here in Stockholm, Sweden with some tough races but also some strong moments to take back to MTC.

“We had rain in three of the four races, which provided plenty of challenges for our engineers to deal with, but they handled the situations well to give our drivers the support they needed in those difficult moments.

“I want to say a big congratulations to Alfie on his first win in papaya. It was a really fantastic moment for the whole team, and we all enjoyed watching him dominate the race at Spa on Wednesday.

“We’re all extremely thankful to the wider McLaren family for the support they have given us this week. It was a long event, but we go again in five weeks after a reset period where we will evaluate our performances and look how to score more valuable points as a team at Event Three.”