McLaren

McLaren (2016) is Roger Donaldson's documentary, and you can watch it online on iFILM. It tells the story of Bruce McLaren, the New Zealander whose surname now sits on one of the most decorated names in Formula One.

The film starts long before the racetrack. A hip condition kept young Bruce in bed for nearly two years, yet it only sharpened his obsession with engines. From his father's workshop and a homemade hill-climb car, the picture follows his bold move to Europe, where the racing establishment barely noticed the kid from Auckland. Donaldson stitches it together from home movies, rare 1960s race footage and the memories of the people who knew him — Mario Andretti, Jackie Stewart, Dan Gurney, Jack Brabham, Emerson Fittipaldi. Bruce himself speaks through old recordings and diary pages.

This is the portrait of an engineer-driver who built his cars by hand and died testing one of them at just 32. There's no syrupy hero-worship here, only real affection for a man whose name still lights up the grid. It lands for motorsport diehards and for anyone who simply loves a story about stubborn ambition. Stream McLaren (2016) online on iFILM.