Iron Mountain fuels a legacy

With a rich, 60-year history in motorsport and on the cusp of its 1000th race, the McLaren Formula 1 Team wanted to protect its significant heritage assets and make them accessible for new generations of fans. They were moving their existing archival storage, which housed film, audio, video, photography, and engineering drawings. However, this wasn’t preserving the integrity of the assets, and the McLaren Racing team wasn’t sure what they had available to them.

So, our collaboration began, with our expertise helping McLaren Racing to protect and unlock the value of this iconic legacy for its fans, partners, and employees. At the helm of this work are Iron Mountain Media & Archival Services (MAS) team members, Hillary Howell, Director, Premium Archival Services; Lloyd Summers, UK Studio Manager; and Mike Cabble, Operations Manager for UK MAS. With decades of experience in media and archives between them, our team is diligently preserving and cataloging thousands of hours of film, footage, and blueprints from their archives, including materials that were previously at risk of deterioration, as well as championship trophies.

The move

When it was time to move the assets from McLaren Racing’s storage to the Iron Mountain facility in the UK, Hillary spent over a week assessing each item: cataloging it, and making recommendations for how it should be handled and appropriately cared for. As an archivist, Hillary develops comprehensive assessments for customers and works to ensure local, onsite operations teams are trained to manage the items.

Hillary worked closely with Mike and his operations team to do this move safely, securely, and with the best interest of the assets at the forefront. “Our jobs involve extensive planning and preparation, looking two days, two weeks, two months ahead to ensure all projects and operations run smoothly,” Mike said.

Mike emphasized the evolving trust between Iron Mountain and the McLaren Formula 1 Team, which began with us storing tapes and expanded to include championship trophies, which often need retrieving for displays or exhibitions. Cabble underscores that this partnership is about more than just storage; it’s about providing a premier service that allows the McLaren Formula 1 Team to “easily access their historical and behind-the-scenes footage.”

The preservation

As part of the move and Hillary’s assessment, videotapes have been given to Lloyd Summers for remediation and stabilization. He emphasized the crucial role of a global “brain trust” of experts and the frontline team in assessing these delicate assets, with the initial information they receive being vital.

Each tape needs to be evaluated individually, and Lloyd is spearheading a plan to digitize them in a format the McLaren Formula 1 Team can easily access and use, thanks to Iron Mountain’s digital platforms.

“The McLaren Formula 1 Team understands the importance of their legacy. It’s our job to help them fully understand how historical assets contribute to telling their story,” explained Hillary. “Much like early movie studios that discarded films after theatrical release, preserving and protecting these diverse assets will enable the McLaren Formula 1 Team to narrate their history long-term.”

By building trust with the McLaren Formula 1 Team, our partnership is growing, and the door is open for more Iron Mountain solutions. “We do our best, all the time,” said Lloyd. And as Mike Cabble said, “out of little acorns, grow big trees.”