Woking is getting a very cheeky plan for Formula 1 on its streets, thanks to McLaren.
McLaren said it’s “absurdly ambitious plan” will help Woking “to join the ranks of Monaco and Singapore as one of Formula 1’s most glamorous and iconic race locations”.
Woking’s pun plan shows an 18 turn track measuring about three miles and is called ‘Woking International Circuit’.
Jonathan Neale the Tech head of McLaren said, “Why not bring Formula 1 to the streets of Woking?
“Obviously, aside from the huge social and financial commitment needed to set up the infrastructure, re-profile roads, re-lay Tarmac, fit miles of Armco, build grandstands, pay for race-hosting fees and gain approval and sign-off from the FIA, we don’t see any barriers to our vision.”
The projected top speed of the track will be 195mph and would be “for the front-running cars” the announcement added.
The plan brought memories of Mika Hakkinen, McLaren executive director Zak Brown said, as Mika was the first person to drive his McLaren across the town after his first world title win in 1998.
“It was Mika who first ‘raced’ a Formula 1 McLaren around the streets of Woking, way back in 1998,” he said.
“That event lit a spark that started a fire that turned into a dream that we converted into an idea: to host a round of the Formula 1 world championship on our doorstep, in Woking.
“Our engineers, our mechanics, our strategists have all actually driven this track. In fact, they’ve lived it; which actually gives them a head-start over the rest of the field.
“They know every bump on the track, every ripple in the Tarmac, every useable rush-hour rat-run, every decent takeaway restaurant within a five-mile radius of the start-line.
“That’s the sort of advantage you can’t buy…”
Woking circuit “takes full advantage of the market town’s winding streets and fast multi-carriageways,” and it will also pass through McLaren’s two old factory locations.
The plan also involves creating paddock on floatable pontoons that will be anchored along the Woking-Basingstoke canal. The local cafes, restaurants and shopping centres will offer Wi-Fi hotspots for the journalists, instead of a media centre.
