Coulthard visits McLaren Technology Centre

It’s not unusual to see Lewis or Heikki wandering the spotless corridors of the McLaren Technology Centre. After all, both drivers work as hard at Woking as they do at the racetrack, regularly attending engineering briefings and preparing for upcoming races.

But when former McLaren alumni David Coulthard and Martin Brundle were spotted wandering along the facility’s pristine boulevard this morning (Wednesday July 3), it prompted many curious glances from the McLaren employees busy at work within McLaren Technology Centre.

Even stranger, Coulthard and Brundle weren’t alone – they were accompanied by Red Bull Racing’s team principal Christian Horner and executive director of engineering Adrian Newey, who had previously worked as McLaren Racing’s technical director until 2005.

The group hadn’t got lost on their way to Silverstone, nor were they attending an impromptu McLaren reunion. And while Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has previously welcomed its paddock colleagues into the Brand Centre for tea and cake, it hasn’t started inviting rival teams round for lunch (well, not yet anyway). But David and his friends were made perfectly welcome. So what was happening?

It turned out David had outbid his rivals in a recent Formula 1 charity auction, winning top prize of a full-blown tour of the McLaren Technology Centre conducted by McLaren Group COO Martin Whitmarsh followed by lunch for four in one of the company’s private dining rooms.

To turn it into a proper day out, David invited along his Red Bull colleagues. And McLaren, never a team to renege on a promise, was only too happy to look after the illustrious guests for the day.

Whitmarsh, probably the most senior ‘tour guide’ on the company payroll, joked: “David has always been a popular driver at McLaren and we've known him for a long time. In fact, he’s driven more grands prix for McLaren than any other driver in Formula 1 history. It's fantastic that he has put his hand in his own pocket to support this charity auction and it's great to see him back at Woking. This afternoon showed that we still remain friends with many of our former drivers – because Martin, of course, is an ex-McLaren driver too.”