McLaren boss Brown gets into a race car himself at Silverstone
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Lando Norris and Daniel Riccardo are not the only people from McLaren who will be seen on the track this weekend. Also McLaren boss Zak Brown will step into a Formula 1 car. Brown will give a demonstration in the legendary Lotus 79.
Championship car
The Lotus 79 was designed by Colin Chapman and was an enormous advance in aerodynamics. Mario Andretti became world champion in 1978 with this car. Andretti and teammate Ronnie Peterson won six Grands Prix that year and Lotus also took the constructors' title. In 1979, the car was also used, but it was overtaken by the competition and finished only fourth in the championship.
Great event
So this weekend, Brown will take a seat in the car as part of the Historic Cars 70th Anniversary demonstration. "It's going to be a great event," Brown let us know to Motorsportweek.com. "It's a real honour and fantastic to have a full circuit of fans. That's going to make it a mega weekend. "I can't wait to get behind the wheel of my Lotus 79 at the amazing Silverstone circuit."
The Lotus 79 is part of an extensive collection of classic race cars from United Autosports, which Brown co-founded with former Le Mans winner Richard Dean. Purchased by Brown, the Lotus 79 has since been restored and made its most recent appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.