Mclaren

[vonuber]

I've been wondering about this, why do Mclaren have such a large fanbase (on this website at least) when compared to other teams?
Is it because they are based in the UK (as are most teams)?
Use British drivers (well, only recently)?
Are British owned (well apart from the Bahrainians, Germans and Luxembourgers)?
The high profile in the media of them in the last ~5 years after Lewis joined?
They have similarities to Red Bull for example, and yet enjoy far more support than them.

For my part, I don't really support a Team as such, but have an interest in the sport as a whole.

[paolow]

Proven pedigree and respect for the team. Being British also helps.

[fatboy69]

Probably because McLaren is something of an icon in British Motorsport. Massive amounts of history, one of the most recognisable sponsorship deals ever - Marlboro - Bruce himself, James Hunt, Ron Dennis, etc & now probably the strongest F1 driver line up for a long time.

& they don't like Ferrari!!!

[andym1603]

Somebody please correct me if I am wrong. I have always thought Mclaren F1 was founded by Bruce Mclaren, Who
if I remember correctly was from New Zealand. So the team would be from there also.

[fatboy69]

True however they have always been considered a British team for as long as I can remember.

[Ultuous]

fatboy69 said:

Probably because McLaren is something of an icon in British Motorsport. Massive amounts of history, one of the most recognisable sponsorship deals ever - Marlboro - Bruce himself, James Hunt, Ron Dennis, etc & now probably the strongest F1 driver line up for a long time.

This... there is simply no comparison to be had to a team that have been been around for just half a decade (despite the wonderful success story of RB)

[niva441]

andym1603 said:

Somebody please correct me if I am wrong. I have always thought Mclaren F1 was founded by Bruce Mclaren, Who
if I remember correctly was from New Zealand. So the team would be from there also.

I think the team has always been in England. Originally being called MRD, but that didn't last for long after travelling to France, they then renamed to Mclaren.

[Vic_S]

Williams had just as big a following when they had winning Brit drivers..,

[Diablos-666]

I've been watching F1 for years and never followed a team. I had a soft spot for Ferrari when Schumi was with them, but now I fully support Mclaren.

They are a British team as you say and having Jenson and Lewis only helps that.

[FloppyRaccoon]

British, and I like the livery

[LordGrover]

Vic_S said:

Williams had just as big a following when they had winning Brit drivers..,

I feel like I've deserted WIlliams - I always followed them years ago.
I switched allegiance to Mclaren, don't really remember when - I definitely didn't like them when Mika Häkkinen was diving for them. Never a great fan of Coulthard either. Hamilton is losing my interest while I really like BJ.
Thinking about it, I jumped ship when Brawn started up. How fickle?
I think it's okay to switch about, not like kickball where it's illegal to change teams. Ever.

[sherbert90]

I like the fact that they fly the flag for British engineering and manufacturing.

[TheHeretic]

I tend to support drivers, rather than teams when it comes to F1.

[sherbert90]

TheHeretic said:

I tend to support drivers, rather than teams when it comes to F1.

Same here. I've always been a Button fan, even when he was the plucky Brit at Honda

[TheHeretic]

sherbert90 said:

TheHeretic said:

I tend to support drivers, rather than teams when it comes to F1.

Same here. I've always been a Button fan, even when he was the plucky Brit at Honda

Same here!

[vonuber]

This 'they are British' thing.. aren't pretty much most Teams? The owners are a consortium as I have noted above, like a lot of other Teams.

[sherbert90]

vonuber said:

This 'they are British' thing.. aren't pretty much most Teams? The owners are a consortium as I have noted above, like a lot of other Teams.

True, but McLaren are the British team IMO.

[HowMuchLonger]

They don't we theselves out anywhere near as much as Ferrari.

[Lost soul]

I have normally followed drivers not teams , but i have always had a bit of a soft sspot for McLaren as they always seem to get shafted by Ferrari International Assistance

[F1GTRUeno]

LordGrover said:

I feel like I've deserted WIlliams - I always followed them years ago.
I switched allegiance to Mclaren, don't really remember when - I definitely didn't like them when Mika Häkkinen was diving for them. Never a great fan of Coulthard either. Hamilton is losing my interest while I really like BJ.
Thinking about it, I jumped ship when Brawn started up. How fickle?
I think it's okay to switch about, not like kickball where it's illegal to change teams. Ever.

I feel the same.

I grew up supporting Damon against Schumi and Williams by extension. My first model car was a 1:18 scale version of Mansell's 92 winning car. I adored the Rothmans livery, hell I even demanded that my family ate somewhere in Portugal just because they had 'Segafredo' on the awning outside and I'd recognised it from the 94 car.

However once they lost the Rothmans colours and the Renault engine, started doing worse and had no Hill I stopped caring about them. Funny that after hating him as a kid I became a Schumi fan against McLaren from 98 onwards. Started hating McLaren after their utter dominance in Melbourne in 98.

Been a Button fan since he started so only really became a McLaren fan since he went there and now it feels like I've been supporting them all my life...obviously not true though.