As Formula 1 builds toward the 2025 British Grand Prix, teams are not waiting for race weekend to energize their fanbases. McLaren is leading this new wave with McLaren Racing Live: London, a free two-day event on July 2-3 that will transform Trafalgar Square into a McLaren paddock experience.
This activation is part of a growing trend where Formula 1 teams expand far beyond the circuit to engage fans directly, bringing the full spectacle of F1 into city centers, combining sport, culture, and technology in ways that are reshaping how fans experience the sport.
McLaren Brings the Paddock to London
McLaren’s London event aims to replicate the atmosphere of a full Grand Prix weekend, but in the heart of one of the world’s busiest cities. Across two full days, fans will have access to McLaren’s full racing world: F1, Formula E, IndyCar, WEC, and the team’s heritage collection.
Beyond simply displaying cars, McLaren is offering garage tours, interactive challenges like pit stop competitions and Batak reflex machines, sim racing stations that put fans behind the virtual wheel like Lando and Oscar, and live on-stage appearances from team members and drivers. The McLaren store will also offer exclusive merchandise throughout the event.
With no tickets required, Trafalgar Square will become a fully public fan zone, mirroring the open-access appeal that London regularly handles during major events like Chinese New Year. Public transport is strongly encouraged, as parking will be unavailable near the venue.
High Expectations for Historic Cars and Iconic Liveries
While the full list of cars hasn’t been announced, one model dominates fan speculation: the legendary McLaren MP4-23. Often ranked among the greatest liveries in F1 history, the chrome-liveried 2008 machine remains iconic for many fans due to its futuristic, shimmering design that still feels advanced nearly two decades later. For many, simply seeing the MP4-23 in person would be a major highlight, making it one of the most requested cars for McLaren to feature at the event.
The inclusion of the team’s heritage fleet, alongside its modern F1, FE, IndyCar, and WEC entries, suggests that McLaren is embracing the full depth of its racing history for this activation.
Crowd Control: Lessons from Williams and London’s Past Events
The event’s ticketless format naturally raises questions about crowd management. However, London has significant experience handling open-access events at Trafalgar Square, often controlling flow by pausing entry when capacity is reached.
Past F1 events like the 2017 F1 Live London showrun at Trafalgar Square ran smoothly under similar conditions, even with high demand. The city’s event teams are adept at adapting traffic and pedestrian flow for these large-scale public activations.
Still, recent experience from Williams’ pop-up event at Piccadilly Circus offers valuable lessons. While the Williams activation attracted massive interest, driver Q&A sessions led to long queues that occasionally spilled into nearby business entrances. Managing fan surges during high-demand moments like stage interviews will be key for McLaren’s team.
Red Bull’s Salzburg Showrun: Another Example of F1’s New Playbook
McLaren isn’t alone in this expanded approach. Red Bull recently staged its own showrun event in Salzburg to mark the reopening of Hangar-7, blending F1 with aviation heritage in a uniquely Red Bull way.
Max Verstappen headlined the event alongside Red Bull’s prized Douglas DC-6B aircraft, a plane with rich historical ties, having once served as the private transport of former Yugoslav leader Josip Tito. The DC-6B’s continued relevance reflects its durability, with some variants like the DC-3 and its turboprop derivatives still flying today in remote operations such as Antarctica.
For many fans, the combination of F1 and aviation history struck a unique emotional chord, blending two distinct worlds of engineering excellence. Some even traveled to Salzburg hoping to catch a glimpse, though the event itself was heavily restricted, with barriers preventing viewing from public streets. Still, stunning high-resolution imagery from the event quickly spread online, becoming instant wallpaper material for many fans once official images were released through Red Bull’s media content pool.
The Formula 1 Fan Experience Is Rapidly Changing
Both McLaren Racing Live: London and Red Bull’s Salzburg showrun underscore a larger shift in how Formula 1 teams are thinking about fan engagement. With F1’s global popularity at unprecedented levels, fueled by Drive to Survive, digital media, and an increasingly younger audience, teams are no longer limiting themselves to race weekends. Instead, they’re proactively bringing immersive activations to major global cities, blending racing, entertainment, and fan access in ways that mirror major music tours or pop culture festivals.
These activations give teams new platforms to strengthen loyalty, attract new fans, and deliver experiences that few sporting brands can replicate. As more teams explore city-centered activations, expect these events to become not just occasional spectacles, but permanent fixtures in F1’s global calendar.
Bottom line:
McLaren Racing Live: London, much like Red Bull’s Salzburg showcase, reflects how Formula 1’s fan experience has permanently evolved. The sport is no longer something fans only watch on Sundays. It’s something they can now step into, touch, interact with, and experience throughout the year, wherever they are in the world.