McLaren

FATHER’S DAY is just around the corner, but what to give the dad who’s had his fill of novelty socks?

Welcome to PalmerSport, the world’s best-kept secret for petrolheads.

Most driving experiences get you three laps in a leggy Lambo beside a terrified instructor telling you to change up early.

But there’s none of that at PalmerSport’s Experience Days, the ultimate all-inclusive racing theme park.

Set across 400 acres at Bedford Autodrome, it boasts four purpose-built circuits and more than five miles of track.

The dream of ex-F1 ace Jonathan Palmer, it’s been designed for speed and space so there are no grandstands or Armco to hit.

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And it’s a good job, too, as unlike any other gift experience you’ve ever been to, you will be pushed to your absolute limit.

I’m greeted by a hearty full English, before a safety briefing, and then it’s helmets on and straight to my first track session.

Everyone is placed in small teams, and all the sessions are professionally timed so you have a crack at a fastest-lap trophy.

The cars are staggering.

My favourites were the McLaren Artura GT4 and Ginetta G56 GTA – both full-blown race cars with slicks and roll cage.

But I never felt too intimidated once on track, thanks to the brilliant instructors.

They gave me immediate feedback over the helmet intercom, and there’s dual controls to help get you out of trouble.

You build up steadily and your last lap should always be your fastest, plus the 596bhp McLaren boasts in-car video and telemetry so I could analyse my quickest time.

We were hitting 135mph on the short back straight, with the instructor telling me precisely when to stamp on the brakes before slicing towards the apex.

The Ginetta felt like a touring car race, raucously good fun and forgiving.

But the real “heart in your mouth” stuff comes on the West Circuit.

The Palmer JP-LM is a sports prototype inspired by the 200mph racers at Le Mans.

It will pull 2.5g in the corners and sap tears from your eyes under braking.

Listen to your instructor carefully, though – as next time you’re out, it’s solo.

It’s truly mind-blowing to think that, in a land of health-and-safety trigger warnings these days, they will squeeze you into a Formula 3000 single-seater.

There’s no instructor, just pure driving in your own mini-Ayrton Senna nirvana.

You also get taster laps in a new 650bhp Hyundai IONIQ 5 N – that alone would be a £250 experience day.

And I still haven’t finished yet.

There’s a full off-road course, where I get to pilot a Defender 90 over obstacles I couldn’t walk up in crampons.

The all-inclusive day means breakfast, refreshments, lunch and afternoon tea – plus the driving experiences – are all part of the package.

I also get a photo taken alongside the McLaren, and in-car video of my fastest laps in the GT4 and F3000.

While it might not exactly be cheap, if you tried to replicate it independently it would cost you twice as much – and the driver coaching alone is priceless.

This is a very similar situation to the one that surrounded Red Bull’s former head of strategy, Will Courtenay, who is now McLaren’s sporting director.

It emerged at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix that Courtenay had signed to join McLaren when his contract ended, and Red Bull emphasised that he would not be allowed to leave before 2026.

They did not specify exactly when in 2026, and BBC Sport has been told that negotiations were held that led to him starting work at McLaren on 1 January this year.

Despite that, for the entirety of last year, Courtenay stayed in his previous role, even though Red Bull were fighting McLaren for the drivers’ championship.

For now, the same thing will happen with Lambiase – he will continue in his role as Red Bull’s head of racing and race engineer to Verstappen for the foreseeable future.

However, just because Red Bull’s statement announcing his departure said he would not be joining McLaren until 2028 does not necessarily mean that will be the case.

McLaren’s statement said Lambiase would join “no later than 2028”. That means they will be hoping to come to an agreement with Red Bull that shortens that timeframe.

It’s worth pointing out, meanwhile, that McLaren have emphasised that Lambiase is joining to provide support for team principal Andrea Stella, not ultimately replace him.

Stella has until now been fulfilling the role to which Lambiase has been appointed, that of chief racing officer, in addition to that of team principal.

Stella said last week: “Zak (Brown, the chief executive officer of McLaren Racing) and I have built a flat team structure, in which it is essential to ensure all leaders are properly empowered, but at the same time, we must guarantee there is always the necessary level of long-term support.

“It goes without saying that, with this approach, the dual role I currently hold could not be sustainable in the long run.”

McLaren have indirectly – but very clearly – rejected what are said to be inaccurate reports that Stella is on his way to Ferrari.

Stella said in a statement issued by McLaren on Friday: “Some of the recent rumours, including those regarding astronomical salaries and mythical pre-contracts, have made me smile.

“It almost seems as though the ‘silly season’, which usually begins before summer, has arrived early!

“I’m quite used to this sort of thing by now and I take with a smile. It almost looks as if some envious pastry chef has tried to spoil the preparation of a good dessert at the McLaren patisserie. However, we do know very well how to distinguish the good ingredients from the poisoned biscuits.”