McLaren stories: Our fans share their favourite experiences – presented by Medallia

My sister and I are avid fans of Lando Norris and McLaren, so we went to the British Grand Prix. On the Saturday, we stood in front of the main stage in the pouring rain for four hours to make sure we had the best spot to see Lando. We had learnt through watching his Twitch Streams that Lando loves stroopwafels, so we thought we might catch his attention if we took some with us.

We held up a sign saying: “Lando, get your stroopwafels here!” The plan worked brilliantly, as Lando read it and motioned for us to throw them onto the stage, which we did. To our amazement, he caught the stroopwafel and started to eat it. We were so happy that we had interacted with our idol and that standing for four hours in the pouring rain had paid off.

We were equally excited when we saw all of the social media comments later that day from fans asking: “Who gave the stroopwafels to Lando and why?” Even the McLaren website mentioned it. We also noticed more fans started bringing and throwing stroopwafels to Lando at other races. We couldn't believe we had started a trend.

We loved this special moment, and we love Lando and McLaren, thanks for the special memories.

I was very fortunate to be at Suzuka in 1998 to experience the championship victory with the team. We popped a few champagne corks with David Coulthard’s father and flew home the following day in the company of Professor Sid Watkins - memories for life.

My first Grand Prix was at Spa in 2022. I was extremely excited, like a little child with a new toy… I bought new shoes and made a custom McLaren design to honour the win in Monza.

On Sunday, I wore my McLaren shoes and just before the race started, a man came up to me and asked me where I got them. I blushed and didn’t know what to say in the moment because no one (except my mum) had said anything nice about my shoes, but I said: “I painted them myself”, and the man seemed quite impressed. A few moments later, he came back with his girlfriend and said: “Look at her shoes, these are amazing! She made them herself.”

His girlfriend looked down at my shoes, then back up at my face and said: “No way, these are so cool! Keep an eye on them. I might try to steal them…” and winked. I felt extremely proud to be a member of the papaya family and to be able to share my enthusiasm and love for the team. To sum it up, sometimes, the best moments are the small ones.

I've been a life-long fan of the team. In February 2020, completely out of the blue, I received a video call from Carlos Sainz inviting me to Woking to help launch the new MCL35 car! I got to meet the drivers and helped to push the car onto the stage. It was such a special moment for me, and I truly will never forget it. This team does so much for its fans!

In October 1969, a friend and I were in the paddock of the Laguna Seca Raceway, standing next to the McLaren #4, when a voice next to me suggested I stand back and cover my ears because it was going to get very loud. I said thanks without looking to see who it was, and then Bruce McLaren got in his M8B Can-Am car, started it up, looked at me and smiled, giving me a thumbs up. He then drove out onto the track. I can still see him, I will never forget that. 

In 2009, I was lucky enough to win a competition to get a trip to the MTC. I left Aberdeen really early and drove all the way down. It was incredible to be allowed inside, to walk the boulevard, and to see the iconic cars and all the trophies on display.

I got to sit in a MP4-23 and got to do a pit stop. Everyone that was there then gathered at the desk, and Lewis Hamilton came around the lake in a car. He came in and gave us a talk. That was a big surprise!

Back in 2014, I was super surprised and excited to be invited to MTC as a McLaren super fan. I could not believe what I was reading and did not hesitate to accept it. I have been a huge fan since the late ‘80s and I could not believe it when I was standing on the Boulevard, seeing all the historic cars and trophies on display. Getting a tour of the factory as a VIP guest is something dreams are made of. It was also a special day to finally meet fellow super fans that I had been interacting with on social media. I thought the day couldn’t get any better, but then Kevin Magnussen popped in to say hi to us all. He signed my flag, posed for pictures and then took a selfie!

I remember being at a chilly Mallory Park when I was 10 in the spring of 1969. We went to watch the Formula 5000 cars being manhandled around the Leicestershire circuit. As a 10-year-old, the noise and smells were so exciting. The ground shook when a full grid of five-litre race cars took off.

My strongest memory was being taken into the paddock. You could pay extra to clamber over the bridge into the infield, giving you total access. The cars were parked without covers next to the converted lorries that carried them to the circuit, and I was drawn to the bright papaya of the McLaren M10 driven by Peter Gethin. He was sat on one of the car’s wheels chatting to enthusiasts, and my dad asked him for his autograph for me, which he kindly scribbled in my programme.

Minutes later, I was standing behind him queuing for either a hot dog or burger from one of the handful of ‘greasy spoon’ converted ice cream vans. He chatted to my dad, and I just stood watching in awe at this, to me, superhuman race car driver. He went on to win that day, no doubt pumped up by chatting with me and my dad.