McLaren Formula 1 race car fuels holiday spirit in Newport Beach
People stop to take photos of the McLaren Formula 1 car that is part of the holiday lighting at the home of Jeff Moorad on Little Balboa Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The car and lights earned Moorad’s home the annual Ring of Lights Sweepstakes Award. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
It’s beginning to look a lot like … a Formula One paddock?
Parked in a Balboa Island yard, under the glow of hundreds of Christmas lights, is a papaya-orange McLaren F1 car. The 2018 car, with open wheels and a single driver’s seat, is outfitted with a current McLaren team livery (the paint scheme sporting sponsorships and the team) and driver Lando Norris’ No. 4.
But instead of the 24-year-old British driver, an inflatable Santa Claus sits behind the wheel. The racing car is part of Jeff Moorad’s holiday decorations, earning his home the annual Ring of Lights Sweepstakes award and viral fame on social media.
The McLaren Formula 1 car that is part of the holiday lighting at the home of Jeff Moorad on Little Balboa Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The car and lights earned Moorad’s home the annual Ring of Lights Sweepstakes Award. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)(Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People stop to take photos of the McLaren Formula 1 car that is part of the holiday lighting at the home of Jeff Moorad on Little Balboa Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The car and lights earned Moorad’s home the annual Ring of Lights Sweepstakes Award. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People stop to take photos of a McLaren Formula 1 car is part of the holiday lighting at the home of Jeff Moorad on Little Balboa Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The car and lights earned Moorad’s home the annual Ring of Lights Sweepstakes Award. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The McLaren Formula 1 car that is part of the holiday lighting at the home of Jeff Moorad on Little Balboa Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The car and lights earned Moorad’s home the annual Ring of Lights Sweepstakes Award. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)(Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
An inflatable Santa is in the drivers seat of a McLaren Formula 1 car that is part of the holiday lighting at the home of Jeff Moorad on Little Balboa Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People stop to take photos of the McLaren Formula 1 car that is part of the holiday lighting at the home of Jeff Moorad on Little Balboa Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The car and lights earned Moorad’s home the annual Ring of Lights Sweepstakes Award. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The McLaren Formula 1 car that is part of the holiday lighting at the home of Jeff Moorad on Little Balboa Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The car and lights earned Moorad’s home the annual Ring of Lights Sweepstakes Award. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)(Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People stop to take photos of the McLaren Formula 1 car that is part of the holiday lighting at the home of Jeff Moorad on Little Balboa Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The car and lights earned Moorad’s home the annual Ring of Lights Sweepstakes Award. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People stop to admire the McLaren Formula 1 car that is part of the holiday lighting at the home of Jeff Moorad on Little Balboa Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The car and lights earned Moorad’s home the annual Ring of Lights Sweepstakes Award. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People stop to take photos of the McLaren Formula 1 car that is part of the holiday lighting at the home of Jeff Moorad on Little Balboa Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The car and lights earned Moorad’s home the annual Ring of Lights Sweepstakes Award. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jeff Moorad’s Little Balboa home won the annual Ring of Lights Sweepstakes Award after he added a McLaren Formula 1 car to his holiday lighting in Newport Beach on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People stop to take photos of the McLaren Formula 1 car that is part of the holiday lighting at the home of Jeff Moorad on Little Balboa Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The car and lights earned Moorad’s home the annual Ring of Lights Sweepstakes Award. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“In retrospect, I couldn’t be more pleased that we were able to share an experience like this with so many in Southern California,” said Moorad, CEO of MSP Sports Capital, a sports private equity firm. “There’s no way that I could have anticipated the fanfare that has occurred, but I think it’s all indicative of an incredibly popular sport, especially in the U.S. at this stage of its history.”
It’s beginning to look like … an F1 paddock in Newport Beach!
People are flocking to see the papaya @McLarenF1 racing car parked on a lawn as part of the home’s holiday decorations. 🏁
On Tuesday evening, at any given time, dozens of people crowded in front of the home, peering at the F1 car and taking photos. Some donned McLaren F1 or IndyCar shirts. Many, like one 26-year-old car aficionado from Hollywood, had driven into Orange County for a chance to see the car.
The McLaren Formula 1 car that is part of the holiday lighting at the home of Jeff Moorad on Little Balboa Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The car and lights earned Moorad’s home the annual Ring of Lights Sweepstakes Award. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)(Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
It took Jakob Barba about 40 minutes to make the trip from Garden Grove to stand on the sea wall with his friends and gaze at the car up close.
“I’m a McLaren fan so I wanted to come check it out in person,” said Barba. “I’m a big car person so just seeing the car in general was cool.”
Moorad adorned his yard with the McLaren car — with the help of a crane — as part of the famed Christmas light displays on the bayfront estates during the annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade. The other objective, he said, was “to also expose a McLaren F1 car to the community.”
“I had no idea what the impact would be, both in terms of visitors who have come by to see the car and social media where it has blown up and is fairly off the charts,” he said.
After a slow start, the 2023 F1 season ended well for the McLaren team. It finished in fourth place — behind Red Bull Racing, Mercedes and Ferrari — with Norris in sixth place among the drivers. Oscar Piastri, who nabbed the sport’s Rookie of the Year award earlier this month, finished ninth.
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