America's 45th president and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee, Donald Trump, attended the third-ever Miami Formula 1 Grand Prix over the weekend and was spotted in the McLaren team's garage before and after the race.
Trump ended up being a lucky charm for the team, as they took their first top-place finish in just under three years, mere hours after his visit.
Although McLaren is historically the sport's second-most winning team, they hadn't scored a top-place finish in nearly three years, aided by the dominance of three-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
McLaren driver Lando Norris is a fan favorite in the sport and, until Sunday, held a record for most podium finishes without a race win at 15.
Motorsport reported the following after McLaren came under fire for hosting the former President this past weekend:
Trump's visit to McLaren coincided with the squad taking its first F1 victory since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, as Lando Norris pulled off a brilliant maiden win.
Speaking after the race, Norris said that Trump had later congratulated him about his success – and called him his ‘lucky charm'.
Speaking about having Trump in the garage, Norris said: “I didn't see him in the garage, to be honest. I was busy prepping for the race. But he saw me after, and 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.
Trump returned to New York Monday for his hush-money trial, and McLaren will race once again in just under two weeks in the seventh race of the 2024 F1 season in Italy.
