McLaren fans rave over ‘epic’ launch as Red Bull criticism avoided

McLaren fans have praised the team’s “exhilarating” 2023 launch event just days after Red Bull supporters were left disappointed. McLaren showed off their new model in a eye-catching programme which featured nods to the team’s past in their 60th year. 

Included in McLaren’s display was a touching tribute to founder Bruce McLaren interjected with interviews from his former team members. The show also featured a clip of new star Oscar Piastri walking past legendary F1 machines driven by the likes of Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen.

Twitter user @hygieneistdirect commented: “The launch on YouTube was exhilarating team. An absolute masterpiece of cinematography. Thank you…. I genuinely had goosebumps.”

@McLarenste posted: “Now that’s how you do a car launch event, the video features were epic, I had goosebumps at the end when the ForeverForward was revealed.” @komygaby added: “Love  it. So beautiful. The videos were great, hats [off] for the creators. Hosts were great too. Thanks for the great show.”

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McLaren’s new 2023 design is an alteration on the team’s traditional orange papaya theme. The new layout is slightly darker with the team’s partnership with Google made more prominent with a Chrome sticker on the monocoque. 

However, fans were keen to praise the new machine moments after launch. @LoweyForSure Tweeted: “Looks so good from every angle.”

@ErinNormal said: “She’s so beautiful! I’m so looking forward to seeing her on track!” However, the car did come in for some criticism with many blasting the team for a lack of changes on their previous designs. 

Twitter user @yprasadd said: “Oh man! McLaren car just looks like a 5th grader was asked to design the whole template. It’s bad!” @rahbert99 added: “I’m not disappointed, but I’m not jumping for joy, it’s not bad.”