Suffering a string of misfortune that have cost a number of races through the season, especially during pit stops, McLaren currently sits in 4th for the constructor's title standings.
In a nice change of pace, McLaren shared its first episode of a series of funny animated shorts on the SKY Sports F1 channel ahead of the British Grand Prix.
Called Tooned, the 3-minute animated shorts star McLaren's drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button and applies their real-life camaraderie and friendly competition as the duo encounters comical adventures throughout the series. In the show, Lewis and Jenson will be working closely with 'Professor M', played by acclaimed British actor and comedian Alexander Armstrong. The 'Professor M' character plays the engineer responsible of developing all the weird innovations that will allow team McLaren to stay ahead of the competition. M also serves as the straight-man comic foil to Lewis and Jenson to finish the comedic tripod.
Armstrong said, "Professor M isn't based on anyone specific, but I guess you could say that he's a blend of Steve Jobs from Apple, 'Q' from the James Bond movies, and, yes, maybe even one or two people from behind the scenes at the McLaren Technology Centre."
Not that there's anything wrong with a cartoon, but it's very uncharacteristic for McLaren, or any racing team for that matter, to pursue entertainment when their main focus should be to win races. According to Executive Chairman of McLaren Group Ron Dennis, the animated series is meant to spearhead a new form of marketing and that a more "demographically accessible 'face' for McLaren will help our brand appeal to a wider audience whilst also fostering increased brand loyalty."
A very practical approach to a very light-hearted project, we hope the people in charge can continue the quality and the funny tone of Tooned. The Tooned series is scheduled to continue for every race for the remaining season and a full series is planned for 2013 as well.
Watch the first episode below!
Happy hump day, everybody!
