McLaren

Founded in 1963 by New Zealand-born Bruce McLaren, McLaren Racing has grown from a small team of passionate racers into one of the most successful and prestigious names in international motorsport.

With an impressive tally of 20 Formula 1 World Championships (12 Drivers’ and 8 Constructors’), McLaren is one of the most successful teams in F1 history.

McLaren’s influence extends far beyond the racetrack. With a global fan base of over 13 million social media followers and partnerships with some of the world’s leading brands, the team’s merchandise sales have seen consistent growth, with a reported 40% increase in e-commerce revenue in 2022 alone.

The requirements

McLaren, as a leading Formula 1 team with expanding interests in Formula E, Extreme E, and eSports, faced complex branding challenges across multiple racing disciplines and team divisions.

The team needed a solution that could provide crisp, durable branding for their high-performance teamwear, as well as versatile options for their expanding line of fan merchandise.

Additionally, McLaren sought a partner who could rapidly produce special edition ranges to capitalise on race victories and commemorate significant events in the team’s history.

Lando Norris talking to his McLaren engineers

How we helped

Following an approach for information in 2021, Elms has provided comprehensive textile solution support to McLaren across their various racing divisions.

Following a period of collaborative development, PS Pro was selected as the product to deliver high-quality, durable embellishments for teamwear across Formula 1, Formula E, and Extreme E, as well as for McLaren Gaming, their eSports division.

This advanced technique ensures that McLaren’s branding remains crisp and visible even under the intense conditions of competition. In the last twelve months alone, we’ve supplied over 75,000 pieces of B2B ‘kit’, using this industry-leading technique.

For McLaren’s apparel lines we’ve employed a combination of screen printing and direct-to-garment printing techniques, produced in our state-of-the-art Macclesfield facility.

This versatility has allowed us to produce both large runs of standard team merchandise and limited edition collections with equal quality and efficiency. Notable projects include special ranges commemorating Ayrton Senna, celebrating McLaren’s Miami Grand Prix victory, and many more.

What they say