McLaren celebrate "epic" title success at FIA awards in Rwanda
F1 News
For McLaren, the FIA Awards Ceremony in Rwanda will be a huge moment. For the first time in 26 years, they will head to the end-of-year celebration and will be honoured for their achievements in the constructors' championship after they took the title in the 2024 season. CEO Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella spoke before the event about their excitement celebrating their achievement.
Of course, it will be a special night for all involved and for those invited to Rwanda by the British team. Thanks to Lando Norris' win at the season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the papaya-coloured team placed themselves at the top of the constructors' championship standings, meaning they won their first title as a team since 1998, a feat that looked almost impossible when they almost went into administration during the COVID-19 saga.
There could have been even more success for McLaren in the drivers' championship with Norris if he had performed more consistently across the year, but that is something that will fuel both his and McLaren's fire for more success come the 2025 season. However, for Friday evening in Rwanda, they will be firmly thinking about celebrating their successful 2024 season.
Brown says "rapid development" is "amazing"
Speaking at the FIA gala before the prize-giving ceremony gets underway, Brown was asked about the brilliant success that his team has had in the premier class of motorsport: "I had a nice note from Damon Hill, Sunday night. He went, ‘I've never actually cared about the Constructors' Championship until I saw McLaren versus Ferrari’. And he said he had a bit of a tear in his eye, which was very, very nice. I think it was epic. The garage environment was amazing. Andrea has done an unbelievable job leading this racing team.
"We have two awesome racing drivers, as we've said from the word go, and all the men and women at McLaren have just done a wonderful job. And I think to go down to the wire against Ferrari, if you had one team to pick to go down to the last lap with, Ferrari would be it, and they did an unbelievable job. They kept us honest the whole way through," continued the American.
He was then asked what words he had for the people back at the factory in Woking: "Huge thank you. The effort that everyone has put in at McLaren has been immense. It's not been easy. I think the team showed their resilience, especially with the start of 2023. It's amazing how quickly Andrea turned the team around. From Austria onwards, it's just been a rapid development. And everyone's just done a wonderful job, and it's a fantastic team atmosphere. And our shareholders who have been extremely supportive, it's great to get this championship for the Crown Prince [of Bahrain, ed.]."
Team boss Stella was then asked about the celebrations that were held in Abu Dhabi after the title was secured: "The best celebration was in the garage. Like the atmosphere in the garage after the victory was great, so energetic, everyone happy, singing. And in addition to ‘We Are The Champion’, this year we were singing the 'Wild Boys' by Duran Duran!"
Finally, the Italian engineer, who also won titles himself with Ferrari in the past, was asked what the difference was between the successes he'd garnered at McLaren and Ferrari: "It's different from many points of view. It's different because this championship means taking McLaren to success after 26 years, so a long time without celebration is different. For me personally, completely different role. And it's different because it's unprecedented how rapidly we evolved from being last in 2023. There's many aspects which are unique, but for me personally, the idea that we contributed to the legacy of McLaren with a world championship is something that I'm still processing personally."
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