Friday 14th February 1997
The Spice Girls and Jamiroquai attended one of the most extravagant F1 launches of all time, as McLaren unveiled its 1997 challenger at Alexandra Palace in London. The car was the first McLaren to feature a striking silver Mercedes livery after years of running red and white Marlboro sponsorship. It also marked a turning point in the team’s fortunes as it scored a victory on its debut outing, the team’s first since Ayrton Senna left in 1993. One year later and McLaren had won the title with Mika Hakkinen.