Lando's F1 success has 'put Woking on the map'

McLaren's Formula 1 successes have put "Woking on the map for all the right reasons," the town's MP says.

The team is celebrating after Lando Norris's championship win, and securing a first drivers' and constructors' title double since 1998.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who made a visit to the McLaren Group headquarters in Woking in Surrey on Monday to announce an expansion of apprenticeships, said it is "great to have this [company] in Surrey."

Chief operating officer at the car manufacturer, McLaren Automotive, Michael Straughan, said everyone had been "buzzing" for weeks.

Will Forster, the Liberal Democrat MP for Woking, says it is "important for McLaren and Woking that they celebrate, that we come together as a community".

"This is putting Woking on the map for all the right reasons and it means that we as a town have got some civic pride and can feel proud about our hometown and where we're from," he told BBC Radio Surrey.

He added that when he was a child he remembered McLaren driving around the centre of the town, celebrating success from former driver Mika Hakkinen.

"When they won [the constructors' title] last year I asked them to come to Woking to celebrate - they did and I'm going to ask the same again when I meet them later."

Visiting McLaren's base in Woking, Sir Kier said: "What a day to come, with Lando having won.

"I thought the way that he wanted to thank his entire team at McLaren was really laudable and it would have meant a lot to the workforce here because they feel part of the team."

The prime minister said: "It's great to have this in Surrey, it's a great asset, hundreds of good, well-paid jobs and of course all the feeder jobs that come into it.

"We want versions of this all over the country."

Paint technician apprentice Mark Lowis-Naya said: "Everyone's on cloud nine and it's really nice to see because everyone here did their part for it, you know, so it feels rewarding to everyone."

Mr Straughan said McLaren had been "buzzing for about two weeks now in the run up to the last race of the season".

"It's been a great couple of weeks."

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