• McLaren are a British success story backed by the ruling family of Bahrain 
  • Crown Prince Salman toasted the win at an exclusive party with celebrities 
  • Australian Oscar Piastri took the victory while Lando Norris finished third 

By JONATHAN MCEVOY

McLaren’s extraordinary triumph in Bahrain was celebrated in style by Crown Prince Salman on Sunday night at a glittering exclusive party attended by his great friend David Ker, the Irish aristocrat and renowned fine art dealer.

Alongside a string of A-list stars, Mr Ker was a feted guest of the Crown Prince, a passionate motor-racing aficionado who has hosted several leading figures from Britain and across the West in the Gulf Kingdom over the last few days.

Mr Ker, a widely loved and admired wit and raconteur, who is currently suffering from cancer, was attending the Grand Prix with his grandson Wilfred.

He rubbed shoulders with celebrities such as Rory Bremner, Guy Ritchie, Sarah Ferguson and her daughters at the party at a private palace. Zara Tindall and husband Mike were also in attendance as the Kingdom’s ruler celebrated a historic moment in McLaren and Bahrain’s history.

Sir Jackie Stewart, the triple world champion who on Sunday drove a lap in his championship-winning Tyrrell from 1973, was another lauded visitor at the various functions hosted by Bahrain’s royalty over the weekend.

‘It was lovely to see Dave here,’ said Sir Jackie, who helped bring Formula One to Bahrain as a friend of the Crown Prince more than 20 years ago.

Crown Prince Salman and Irish aristocrat David Ker celebrated McLaren's win in Bahrain

Crown Prince Salman and Irish aristocrat David Ker celebrated McLaren’s win in Bahrain

Oscar Piastri romped home to take the victory while Lando Norris finished in third place

Oscar Piastri romped home to take the victory while Lando Norris finished in third place

The McLaren team is a British success story backed by the ruling family of Bahrain – a combination that helped produce Sunday’s remarkable win on the track they built in the desert.

Crown Prince Salman, the inspiration behind the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, has remained loyal to his investment in McLaren throughout many barren years, which ended in stupendous style with last year’s victory in the constructors’ championship – a year earlier than they had even planned for.

It was the team’s first such title since 1998.

Little wonder the Crown Prince lit up Bahrain in orange lights – ‘papaya’ is the McLaren’s traditional colour. And on Sunday night The Tower just beyond the paddock was illuminated in orange.

The Bahrain Grand Prix was first staged in 2004 and McLaren, for all their pedigree and list of champions including Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton, had never stood on the top step of the podium in their own Gulf kingdom.

All that changed in the last 24 hours, but not before a story of survival on the brink. For during Covid, the Woking-based team, a giant of the automotive industry in the United Kingdom, came close to extinction.

‘We were running at a loss, but the Bahraini royal family always had our back,’ said chief executive Zak Brown. ‘We knew if things turned any more dire that they were with us, but they were worrying times.’

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Crown prince celebrates McLaren’s landmark Bahrain Grand Prix win alongside Irish aristocrat at star-studded party in the desert



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