GRAND PRIX Driver: Amazon McLaren series set for February release
David Farnor | On 15, Jan 2018
GRAND PRIX Driver, Amazon’s new McLaren documentary series, is on track for a February release.
The four-part Formula 1 series, which is narrated by Michael Douglas, gives “unprecedented access” to the drivers, engineers and leaders of the legendary race team.
GRAND PRIX Driver goes inside the highly secretive world of Formula 1 by offering never-before-granted access to the inner workings of the McLaren team. After two tough years at the back of the grid, McLaren is hopeful that this is the year they will be back on the podium and they have promoted rookie driver Stoffel Vandoorne alongside two-time world champion Fernando Alonso to work towards this goal.
GRAND PRIX Driver will take viewers through Vandoorne’s first few months with McLaren-Honda, including his grueling training regime, the launch of the new 2017 car and testing in Barcelona. Challenges within the team will also be shown, including Alonso and his fierce drive to claim a third championship and new McLaren Executive Director Zak Brown’s quest for sponsorship in this expensive sport and the car build process, which involves the installation of the new Honda engine – something no team has previously allowed.
“GRAND PRIX Driver provides Prime members unprecedented access to the McLaren-Honda team and its state-of-the-art facility and follows all facets of the team as it deals with a challenging 2017 season,” says Heather Schuster, Head of Unscripted, Amazon Originals. “Amazon customers will have a front row seat to the good and the bad—it will be unlike anything ever seen before in racing.”
“It’s no secret that this has been the most difficult season in McLaren’s history and it would have been easy for them to close the doors on us,” adds Executive Producer Manish Pandey. “Instead, the team trusted Prime members to understand the mind-blowing complexity of modern Formula 1 and to recognize that all competitors take falls – but only great champions get up again, fight and win. And McLaren and Honda are great champions.”
“We were absolutely committed to opening every door for Amazon’s film crew as they followed us across our many months of preparation ahead of the 2017 Formula 1 season,” echoes Zak Brown, McLaren Executive Director. “We left no stone unturned in giving them the access and insight they needed – and the results, both the good and the not so good, are both revealing and compelling. I can’t remember a Formula 1 operation revealing as much as we have, and the results will show the sheer effort, ambition, hope and heartbreak that makes Formula 1 the greatest sport in the world.”
GRAND PRIX Driver will be released on Amazon Prime Video on Friday 9th February.
Amazon greenlights McLaren racing docuseries
30th March 2017
Right on the tail of its documentary series about Le Mans, Amazon is getting back on the racing circuit for a new original series about F1 team McClaren.
The untitled docuseries will give viewers “unprecedented access” to the McLaren racing team. It follows the team, founded in 1963, as they prepare to challenge for the 201 Formula 1 World Championship, with new Executive Director and former racer Zak Brown leading the famed racing organisation. Featuring exclusive access from McLaren to the technically competitive and secretive world of racing, the series will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the physical and mental preparation of a Formula 1 crew, including exclusive footage of how McLaren builds and tests a Formula 1 car, never-before-seen coverage of the sponsor and partnership deals that finance the team – and, of course, time with the team’s drivers: rookie Stoffel Vandoorne and former double world champion Fernando Alonso.
“The series will take Amazon Prime members inside what it takes to compete at the highest level of Formula 1 racing,” says Conrad Riggs, Head of Unscripted, Amazon Originals. “It will combine unparalleled access with exciting and dramatic storytelling that will appeal to racing fans and non-racing fans alike.”
“McLaren dominated F1 in the modern era, creating champions like Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton. But they are also a family who have recently gone through difficult times, both on track and off,” adds Executive Producer Manish Pandey. “And like all families, we will watch them pull together to regain their rightful place at the head of F1.”
“At McLaren, we want to showcase and celebrate every element of Formula 1. We understand and appreciate that Formula 1 fans are always keen for greater levels of access, insight and information, and the series will give them the most intimate and honest access to a modern Formula 1 team that’s ever been seen,” comment Brown.
The series is executive produced by BAFTA winner Manish Pandey (Senna, Ferrari, The Bentley Boys), Chris Connell and Anwar Nuseibeh.