A cheeky dig on a recent podcast by Liam Lawson about McLaren’s New Zealand roots has been cleared up by the Kiwi driver.
On a recent episode of the Red Flags Podcast, Lawson said it was “complete bulls**t” that the New Zealand national anthem wasn’t played when McLaren won a race given the team was founded by legendary Kiwi racer Bruce McLaren in 1963, and still retains his name.
But speaking to The Roar in Las Vegas ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend, Lawson said that his quotes were taken out of context.
“I think this is stuff that I’m learning in Formula 1,” he said.
“Stuff gets taken out of context, and it’s ironic, I was laughing when I mentioned this comment in a podcast.
“It was more of a joke, but obviously it got taken very literally.
“Obviously, I’m very proud to be from New Zealand and our motorsport history. Bruce McLaren is somebody who is an absolute icon in New Zealand in motorsport.
“So somebody I looked up to and learned a lot about, let’s say, when I was younger.
“So, yeah, obviously proud to be a New Zealander, but I don’t have anything to add on the national anthem.”
Lawson had made reference on the podcast to Red Bull playing the national anthem of Austria when they won a race, given Red Bull is an Austrian company.
However, the team is based in the UK, which drew the ire of the Kiwi driver.
“Red Bull play the Austrian national anthem and the team’s based in the UK. McLaren’s based in the UK, but it’s a New Zealand team,” he said on the episode.
This article was originally written for The Roar. You can read the published version here
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