The road to 1000 races hasn’t always been smooth for McLaren. However, in recent years, you could say the team has well and truly hit its stride.

As they go into Monaco, not only are they arriving as the reigning world constructors’ champions and driver, Lando Norris, as the drivers’ champion, the team will be celebrating their 1000th race - an achievement only one other team (Ferrari, of course) has ever reached.

Whilst Zak Brown and Andrea Stella take care of what happens on track and Norris and his team-mate, Oscar Piastri, concentrate on the driving - off the track, Louise McEwen is at the heart of how people interact with McLaren.

As the chief marketing officer of McLaren Racing, McEwen wants to make sure that this milestone isn’t just for the team, but also for the fans who have supported them over the last 60 years.

“Everything starts with the fans,” said McEwen, who has been with the team since 2014.

“Whether they’re attending in person or engaging with us digitally, it’s about making them feel closer to the team in a way that is meaningful and authentic. If they come away feeling more connected to McLaren, more invested in our journey and part of our story, that’s when we know we’ve done something right.”

Louise joined McLaren Racing as their brand director in 2017 and had worked with the team prior as a consultant since 2014, but her history with the brand goes back even further. For nine years, the now CMO worked for Vodafone group across their global sponsorships, which then included being the title sponsor for what was then Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

McEwen views her role as one of huge responsibility and privilege, looking after the story of one of Formula 1’s most historic teams.

I put it to her that her 20-odd year connection to the team meant she was well-placed to be heading up the celebrations.

“I think it gives me a unique perspective. I’ve been fortunate to experience a significant part of McLaren’s recent journey, and that brings a real sense of pride when reflecting on what this milestone represents,” she said.

However she explained that she didn’t see their heritage as something static - instead something that is forever evolving.

“Being part of the team at this point, as we celebrate our 1000th grand prix, feels incredibly significant. It’s a chance to recognise everything that has come before, celebrate what the team has achieved together, and continue to build momentum for what comes next.”

McLaren Racing’s legacy, according to McEwen, is one of successes, setbacks and comebacks. It’s only fitting that the road to 1000 races followed that narrative too.

The anniversary was initially anticipated as falling at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix and McLaren was all systems go to celebrate its 1000th race in America, with planning having started in early 2025.

But as McLaren knows all too well, best laid plans etc etc…

In mid-March, Formula 1 announced that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix were to be cancelled due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

At this point, McLaren was fewer than 11 weeks out from McLaren Racing Live: Miami, a massive fan activation at Miami’s Regatta Harbour.

“When the calendar shifted, we had to adapt quickly. Rather than seeing Miami as the milestone itself, we repositioned it as the launch of our 1000th Grand Prix campaign,” McEwen explains.

“That pivot from Miami to Monaco has also become an important part of the campaign narrative, grounding it in the reality of the sport.

“There are no guarantees in Formula 1, and reaching 1000 races is something that has to be earned over time. In that sense, the journey between those two races has come to represent just how significant it is that McLaren has made it through 1000 grands prix.”

For all intents and purposes, the Miami event was a success.

As someone who was there, you couldn’t say they had missed an opportunity to surprise and delight their dedicated Papaya Army. Speaking to fans on the ground, many had travelled from far and wide to get a taste of the McLaren experience.

From the showrun featuring iconic McLaren cars, appearances from drivers past and present, to partner activations and the launch of McLaren Golf - the event was jam-packed with Papaya-donning devotees lapping it up. Even three very good boys called Oscar Pawastri, Landog Norris and Zak Bark popped down to the harbour to mingle with the fans and meet their namesakes.

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“Miami was always designed to be our main fan moment, a large-scale, immersive experience where we could bring thousands of fans together and celebrate the milestone in a very open, accessible way.”

McEwen added, “Monaco, by its nature, is very different. Logistically it doesn’t lend itself to that same kind of large-scale, fan-first activation, so we took a slightly different approach and leaned into a curated and, in some ways, more emotional experience.”

Although the situation with the cancellations was entirely out of their control, McLaren have found themselves in a rather poetic situation in Monaco.

In 1966, a Kiwi man by the name of Bruce, entered the Monaco Grand Prix for the first time.

Now, almost exactly 60 years later, Bruce’s team will return to the historic principality for their 1000th race.

Although they were thrown a logistical nightmare of a curveball, McLaren had been handed a home run of a narrative.

“While it wasn’t how we originally planned it, there was something incredibly fitting about reaching this milestone in Monaco,” McEwen mused.

“This is where our story in Formula 1 began, with the M2B, our first ever F1 car, racing there in 1966, driven by Bruce McLaren himself.”

In contrast to the spectacle of McLaren Live: Miami, McLaren has marked the occasion in Monaco in a more poignant, intimate manner.

On Thursday, McLaren race winners past and present gathered for a photo on the track flanked by the original M2B and the current MCL40. McLaren legend Mika Häkkinen then took the M2B for a run around the Monaco track to celebrate.

McEwen was especially proud of bringing the M2B back to life after more than 15 years off track. Seeing it driven by Häkkinen made the moment even more special.

“Watching the M2B run on the Monaco circuit alongside our current Formula 1 car was extremely special. It was genuinely quite emotional, and a very visible reminder of how far the team has come, from those early days to where we are today,”

“While it may not have been what we originally planned, it ended up being a very special and poignant celebration of the milestone, and in many ways, a more meaningful one,” she adds.

For McEwen, that is what McLaren's 1000th Grand Prix has always been about.

Not simply celebrating a number, but capturing a journey that stretches from Bruce McLaren and the M2B in 1966 to a team once again fighting at the front of F1.

When asked how she would sum up McLaren's history in a single phrase, her answer came quickly: "Forever Forward."

It's a fitting description because while the sight of the M2B returning to the streets of Monaco was a powerful reminder of where McLaren began, the team's 1000th race was never really about looking back.

It was about celebrating how far they have come, where they are going next, and the fans who have been with them along the way.