McLaren issues statement amidst Donald Trump's appearance backlash

McLaren has issued a statement clarifying its non-political stance after inviting US presidential candidate Donald Trump to its motorhome. Trump is contesting to be the president of the United States again after a stint in the Oval Office from 2016 to 2020.

F1 as a sport has maintained that any political statements or messages are a strict no. This was precisely why it came as a surprise to many when Donald Trump turned out to be a guest at McLaren.

His appearance included taking a photo with the entire team and meeting the drivers before the race. The former president continued to be in attendance until the end of the race. He even termed himself the lucky charm that made Lando Norris' first win possible.

The polarizing personality of Donald Trump meant that McLaren received backlash from the fans who questioned his presence in the paddock. The Woking-based squad has issued a public statement in which it has maintained its nonpolitical stance. The team also revealed that the request was made to the team alongside FIA and F1's owner, Liberty Media. The statement read,

“McLaren is a non-political organisation however we recognise and respect the office of President of the United States. So when the request was made to visit our garage on race day we accepted alongside the president of the FIA and the CEO’s of Liberty Media and Formula 1.

“We were honoured that McLaren Racing was chosen as the representative of F1 which gave us the opportunity to showcase the world class engineering that we bring to motorsport.”

McLaren driver Lando Norris addresses having Donald Trump in the garage

McLaren driver Lando Norris addressed having Donald Trump in the garage and revealed that he could not meet him before the race. The driver eventually executed a brilliant race where he came through the field to win his first-ever Grand Prix.

Talking about Donald Trump, as quoted by Autosport, Norris had glowing words to say for the former president, he said,

“I didn't see him in the garage, to be honest. I was busy prepping for the race. But he saw me after, and he came up to congratulate me. So I guess an honour, because whenever you have someone like this, it has to be an honour for them to come up to you, to take time out of their life, to pay their respect for what you've done."

Lando Norris has now helped his team win its first race since Daniel Ricciardo won in 2021 in Monza. Keeping whatever happened with Donald Trump to one side, the team would be very happy with how everything has panned out in the first six races of the season.