McLaren announced New Zealander Emma Gilmour as their first female racer on Wednesday with the rally driver set to compete in the new electric Extreme E off-road series next year.
The announcement during the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow took the British-based team back to its origins, with late founder and first driver Bruce McLaren also a New Zealander.
"I keep pinching myself. It is so surreal. Growing up in New Zealand, Bruce McLaren is such an iconic name with New Zealand motorsport," Gilmour told reporters. "I never imagined, I never day-dreamed about racing for McLaren because I was a rally driver.