We were treated to a thrilling sight - and sound! - as a classic F1 McLaren burned rubber around Blackpool Airport’s runway this week - now we meet the man behind the wheel...

The F1 McLaren is owned and raced by Steve Hartley, 69, a prominent figure in Masters Historic Racing.

Steve is a regular fixture on the podium and has won multiple championships, most recently in 2022 in Barcelona.

But on Tuesday, Steve swapped the sun-drenched circuits of Barcelona and Monaco for the tarmac at Blackpool Airport, captivating aircraft enthusiasts who filmed him eating up laps from the viewing area at Squires Gate.

The stunning McLaren MP4/1 - owned by Masters Racing Legends driver Steve Hartley - was taken for a spin around Blackpool Airport on Tuesday (August 12) | Al Rutter

placeholder image — The stunning McLaren MP4/1 - owned by Masters Racing Legends driver Steve Hartley - was taken for a spin around Blackpool Airport on Tuesday (August 12) | Al Rutter

The former Masters F1 champ took his McLaren MP4/1 for a few spins around the runway and the awesome sight was filmed by Mick Muldoon, a regular contributor to Blackpool Airport Supporters page on Facebook.

Blackpool’s Air Traffic Control Assistant, Al Rutter, was lucky to get a front row seat to the high-speed action, and has kindly shared his pictures of Steve’s McLaren parked next to his other high-speed beauty - an L-39 Albatros jet!

Will we see Steve and his classic F1 McLaren at Blackpool Airport again? Maybe. Steve is a regular visitor to the airport where he keeps his L-39 jet at Hangar 4.

It’s understood that he received special permission to do some testing on his F1 McLaren at the airport, which reportedly had a fuel pump issue that needed to be rectified before his next classic F1 Masters race.

Get behind the wheel with Steve for an incredible driver’s eye-view from the McLaren’s cockpit. Take a ride with him in the video below...and turn the volume UP!

The MP4/1 was the predecessor to one of the most successful and dominant Formula One car designs of all time - the McLaren MP4/4, driven by tragic F1 legend Ayrton Senna during the 1988 Formula One season.

But Steve’s McLaren MP4/1 boasts its own proud history, debuting at the 1981 Formula Championship in Argentina and was at the time considered "the most advanced and expensive race car in the world".

Former F1 champ John Watson drove the MP4/1 for most of the 1981 season, teaming up with Niki Lauda for the 1982 and 1983 seasons. In ‘83 at Long Beach, California, Watson won from 22nd on the grid – the farthest back on the grid a driver has won from in Formula One.

Steve Hartley is a regular fixture on the Masters Historic Racing circuit and has won multiple championships behind the wheel of his McLaren MP4/1, mostly recently in 2022 in Barcelona | Masters Historic Racing

Steve’s story

The former businessman’s passion for historic Formula One saw him make his dream a reality when he began competing in his stunning McLaren MP4/1 in the Masters Racing Legends series.

When Steve sold his business, he was determined to buy the best car he could find. He didn’t need to search long and was soon holding the keys to his dream car - a classic Formula One championship winning McLaren MP4/1.

“McLaren had an endless budget and the best engineers,” he told Masters Historic Racing magazine. “When you look at the car and work on it you can see all the engineering finesse put into it, and that’s why it was a front running car.”