McLaren F1 announces new partnership with Loop
The defending Formula 1 Constructors' Champions are off to a hot start on the track. Lando Norris began the season with a win at the Australian Grand Prix, and teammate Oscar Piastri continued the team's good fortunes with a win at the Chinese Grand Prix. That gives McLaren three consecutive victories, dating back to Norris' win in the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Now, the team is announcing a first-of-its-kind partnership with Loop, as the Belgian company is becoming McLaren's first-ever earplug partner.
According to a press release, the new McLaren Formula 1 Team x Loop Switch 2 earplugs 'combine precision engineering with sound innovation to enhance off-track performance and recovery.' The Loop Switch 2 earplugs will be used by the team members, and are 'designed to give team members precise control over their sound environment.'
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The Loop Switch 2 earplugs have three settings, ranging from quiet mode to engage mode.
'The partnership with Loop embodies our commitment to performance and giving our team every advantage. Both Loop Earplugs and McLaren Racing share a passion for precision design and this collaboration brings something truly unique to both our team and our fans,' said Matt Dennington, McLaren's Co-Chief Commercial Officer.
McLaren fans can find the Loop Earplugs at both the team store as well as Loop's website.
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Will McLaren be worried about Norris-Piastri relationship?
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They are allowed to race each other, as long as they are fair - and that includes the possibility of divergent strategies to try to win a race that has been getting away from one or another. That's what Lando Norris did in Hungary on Sunday. After finding himself in all the wrong places trying to pass Oscar Piastri off the line, Norris had to fight back from fifth place at the end of the first lap. He and engineer Will Joseph opted for a one-stop strategy that McLaren had not really considered would be a serious choice pre-race. It won him track position over Piastri for his final stint, and he managed it to perfection. McLaren did their best to give Piastri the best possible opportunity to beat Norris - by giving him as big a tyre offset as possible within the bounds of the race duration, even to the extent of costing him track position to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. 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