<p>McLaren have issued a statement, defending their decision to allow former US president Donald Trump to visit their garage at the Miami Grand Prix that concluded on Sunday (May 5) with a first top podium finish for Lando Norris. A section of Formula 1 fans, however, did not like the presence of Trump and criticised the British motorsport company.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Trump, who lives in Florida, was among the several VIPs to descend to the race track and the paddock in Miami. He was seen interacting with Norris while posing for photos with team chief executive Zak Brown in the pit lane outside the garage.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Amid the online criticism, McLaren issued a statement saying that the organisation was honoured to host Trump at the request of the FIA boss.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>“McLaren is a non-political organisation, however, we recognise and respect the office of President of the United States so when the request was made to visit our garage on race day we accepted alongside the president of the FIA and the CEO’s of Liberty Media and Formula 1," read the statement.&nbsp;</p>

<p>“We were honoured that McLaren Racing was chosen as the representative of F1 which gave us the opportunity to showcase the world-class engineering that we bring to motorsport," it added.&nbsp;</p>

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<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/nationality-bias-in-f1-fernando-alonso-levels-serious-allegation-following-miami-gp-sprint-incident-718233"><strong>Also read |&nbsp;Nationality bias in F1? Fernando Alonso levels serious allegation following Miami GP sprint incident</strong></a></p>

<h2><strong>Norris’ lucky charm - Trump&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p>Quizzed after the race where Norris managed to outpace Red Bull's Max Verstappen to win his maiden Formula 1 race, the British driver said Trump came to congratulate him.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"He came up to congratulate me. So I guess an honour, because whenever you have someone like this, it has to be an honour for them to come up to you, to take time out of their life, to pay their respect for what you’ve done," said Norris.&nbsp;</p>

<p>“He said he was my lucky charm because it’s my win, so I don’t know if he’s going to come to more races now. But there’s a lot of special people or cool people that have been here this weekend. Donald is someone that you got to have a lot of respect for in many ways," he added.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Trump, one of the most polarising figures in the US, has been on the campaign trail to secure a second term as the president. He has already secured the nomination from the GOP and would be going up against Joe Biden, later this year.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


McLaren have issued a statement, defending their decision to allow former US president Donald Trump to visit their garage at the Miami Grand Prix that concluded on Sunday (May 5) with a first top podium finish for Lando Norris.

McLaren have issued a statement, defending their decision to allow former US president Donald Trump to visit their garage at the Miami Grand Prix that concluded on Sunday (May 5) with a first top podium finish for Lando Norris. A section of Formula 1 fans, however, did not like the presence of Trump and criticised the British motorsport company. Trump, who lives in Florida, was among the several VIPs to descend to the race track and the paddock in Miami. He was seen interacting with Norris while posing for photos with team chief executive Zak Brown in the pit lane outside the garage. Amid the online criticism, McLaren issued a statement saying that the organisation was honoured to host Trump at the request of the FIA boss. “McLaren is a non-political organisation, however, we recognise and respect the office of President of the United States so when the request was made to visit our garage on race day we accepted alongside the president of the FIA and the CEO’s of Liberty Media and Formula 1," read the statement. “We were honoured that McLaren Racing was chosen as the representative of F1 which gave us the opportunity to showcase the world-class engineering that we bring to motorsport," it added. View this post on Instagram A post shared by McLaren (@mclaren) × Also read | Nationality bias in F1? Fernando Alonso levels serious allegation following Miami GP sprint incident Norris’ lucky charm - Trump Quizzed after the race where Norris managed to outpace Red Bull's Max Verstappen to win his maiden Formula 1 race, the British driver said Trump came to congratulate him. "He came up to congratulate me. So I guess an honour, because whenever you have someone like this, it has to be an honour for them to come up to you, to take time out of their life, to pay their respect for what you’ve done," said Norris. “He said he was my lucky charm because it’s my win, so I don’t know if he’s going to come to more races now. But there’s a lot of special people or cool people that have been here this weekend. Donald is someone that you got to have a lot of respect for in many ways," he added. Trump, one of the most polarising figures in the US, has been on the campaign trail to secure a second term as the president. He has already secured the nomination from the GOP and would be going up against Joe Biden, later this year. (With inputs from agencies)

‘We were honoured’: McLaren defend hosting Donald Trump during Miami GP amid backlash

<p>McLaren boss Zak Brown said Sunday that the coronavirus pandemic has plunged Formula One into "a very fragile state", warning that as many as four teams could even be driven out of business.</p>

<p>The 2020 world championship has been unable to start with eight races of a scheduled 22 already either scrapped or postponed.</p>

<p>"This is potentially devastating to teams, and if (it is devastating) to enough teams then it's very threatening to F1 as a whole," Brown told the BBC on the eve of a meeting planned to discuss cost-cutting in the sport.</p>

<p>Brown insisted that all the teams have agreed to lower the 2021 budget cap to $150m (138.7 million euros) down from $175 million.</p>

<p>However, he said the ceiling needs to be reduced further to counter the financial fall-out from the virus-hit season.</p>

<p>"Could I see -- through what is going on right now in the world if we don't tackle this situation head on very aggressively -- two teams disappearing? Yeah," said Brown.</p>

<p>"In fact, I could see four teams disappearing if this isn't handled the right way.</p>

<p>"And then, given how long it takes to ramp up an F1 team, and given the economic and health crisis we are in right now, to think there would be people lined up to take over those teams like there has historically been... I don't think the timing could be worse from that standpoint.</p>

<p>"So I think F1 is in a very fragile state at the moment."<br />
&nbsp;</p>


McLaren boss Zak Brown said Sunday that the coronavirus pandemic has plunged Formula One into "a very fragile state", warning that as many as four teams could even be driven out of business.

McLaren boss Zak Brown said Sunday that the coronavirus pandemic has plunged Formula One into "a very fragile state", warning that as many as four teams could even be driven out of business. The 2020 world championship has been unable to start with eight races of a scheduled 22 already either scrapped or postponed. "This is potentially devastating to teams, and if (it is devastating) to enough teams then it's very threatening to F1 as a whole," Brown told the BBC on the eve of a meeting planned to discuss cost-cutting in the sport. Brown insisted that all the teams have agreed to lower the 2021 budget cap to $150m (138.7 million euros) down from $175 million. However, he said the ceiling needs to be reduced further to counter the financial fall-out from the virus-hit season. "Could I see -- through what is going on right now in the world if we don't tackle this situation head on very aggressively -- two teams disappearing? Yeah," said Brown. "In fact, I could see four teams disappearing if this isn't handled the right way. "And then, given how long it takes to ramp up an F1 team, and given the economic and health crisis we are in right now, to think there would be people lined up to take over those teams like there has historically been... I don't think the timing could be worse from that standpoint. "So I think F1 is in a very fragile state at the moment."

Formula One in 'very fragile state', warns McLaren boss Brown

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‘We were honoured’: McLaren defend hosting Donald Trump during Miami GP amid backlash

Formula One in 'very fragile state', warns McLaren boss Brown