McLaren and Amazon Prime in ground breaking new behind-the-scenes TV series

McLaren may be enduring a torrid time on track at the moment, but it is breaking new ground as far as taking its F1 story to new content platforms, as a new behind the scenes series with Amazon Prime was announced today.

Team boss Zak Brown described the series as "the most intimate and honest access to a modern Formula 1 team that’s ever been seen."

And the difficult winter preparations for the season, including the challenges with the Honda engine, are part of the narrative of the new series, which will air on the content platform that has invested so heavily in the Jeremy Clarkson vehicle, The Grand Tour.

The release date has not been set.

BAFTA-winning Senna movie writer/producer Manish Pandey is behind the Amazon project, along with Chris Connell and Anwar Nuseibeh. The series follows 25 year old F1 newcomer Stoffel Vandoorne as he builds up to his first full season in F1. The crew was present behind the scenes at all the key moments over the winter in the build up to Vandoorne's appearance in last weekend's Australian Grand Prix.

The series will be on global release as part of Amazon’s Original Unscripted Series of documentary films and will be available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. The show is expected to be rolled out in over 200 countries and territories on Amazon platforms.

“At McLaren, we want to showcase and celebrate every element of Formula 1. We understand and appreciate that Formula 1 fans are always keen for greater levels of access, insight and information, and this series will give them the most intimate and honest access to a modern Formula 1 team that’s ever been seen," said Brown.

“While we wanted to show the technology and expertise that go into building these machines, we also wanted to show the passion, commitment and effort of the hundreds of people at the McLaren Technology Centre whose efforts take us racing every season.

“Ultimately, Formula 1 is a very human story; and my true hope is that the series successfully captures the honesty and humanity of living, working and racing in Formula 1.”

After launching its newly liveried car last month amid optimistic messages about moving closer to the podium in 2017, McLaren had a nightmare test session in Barcelona, where the lack of performance and reliability in the new Honda engine came to light.

The team had low expectations in Melbourne, with Alonso telling TV crews he hoped for a miracle. He almost got one; the Spaniard qualified an extraordinary 13th, despite having a speed deficit on the straight of over 30km/h to the fastest cars and ran in the points 10th place in the race until the closing stages, when he was forced to retire.

Vandoorne had far more predictable frustration; his qualifying was compromised by fuel pressure issues and he ran towards the back of the field, but did at least see the chequered flag as last of the 13 classified finishers.