These are testing times for McLaren, not least as the Formula One team stare down the barrel of what is likely to be another difficult weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix. Yet to come out fighting with a bullish statement of intent rather than accept midtable mediocrity has been the reaction from an organisation whose storied grand prix history deserves nothing less.
This week McLaren announced they had appointed Red Bull’s chief engineering officer, Rob Marshall. The British engineer from Taunton has been an integral part of Red Bull ever since joining them a year after their inception in 2005 and played a vital part in car design during its world championship-winning years of 2010 to 2013, and since Max Verstappen took his first title in 2021 – after which the Dutchman has gone on to dominate the championship.
