McLaren
Encyclopedia
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One
team based in Woking
, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500
and Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am). The team is the second oldest active team (after Ferrari) and one of the most successful teams in Formula One, having won 175 races, 12 drivers' championships and 8 constructors' championships.
Founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren
, the team won its first Grand Prix at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix
but their greatest initial success was in Can-Am, where they dominated from 1967 to 1971. Further American triumph followed, with Indianapolis 500 wins in McLaren cars for Mark Donohue
in 1972
and Johnny Rutherford
in 1974
and 1976
. After Bruce McLaren died in a testing accident in 1970, Teddy Mayer
took over and led the team to their first Formula One constructors' championship in 1974
, with Emerson Fittipaldi
and James Hunt
winning the drivers' championship in 1974 and 1976
respectively. 1974 also marked the start of a long standing sponsorship by Phillip Morris
' Marlboro cigarette brand.
In 1981 McLaren merged with Ron Dennis
' Project Four Racing; Dennis took over as team principal and shortly after organised a buyout of the original McLaren shareholders to take full control of the team. This began the team's most successful era: with Porsche
and Honda engines, Niki Lauda
, Alain Prost
and Ayrton Senna
took between them seven drivers' championships and McLaren six constructors' championships. The combination of Prost and Senna was particularly dominant—together they won all but one race in 1988
—but later their rivalry soured and Prost left for Ferrari
. Fellow English team Williams offered the most consistent challenge during this period, the two winning every constructors' title between 1984
and 1994
. However, by the mid-1990s Honda had withdrawn from Formula One, Senna had moved to Williams and the team went three seasons without a win. With Mercedes-Benz engines, West
sponsorship and former Williams designer Adrian Newey
, further championships came in 1998
and 1999
with driver Mika Häkkinen
and during the 2000s the team were consistent front-runners, driver Lewis Hamilton
taking their latest title in 2008
. In 2009 Dennis retired as team principal of McLaren handing the former role to longtime McLaren employee Martin Whitmarsh
.
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing was founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren
. Bruce was a works
driver for the British Formula One
team Cooper
with whom he had won three Grands Prix
and come second in the 1960 world championship
. Wanting to compete in the Australasia
n Tasman Series
, Bruce approached his employers, but when team owner Charles Cooper insisted on using 1.5 litre Formula One-specification engines instead of the 2.5 litre motors permitted by the Tasman rules, Bruce decided to set up his own team to run him and his prospective Formula One team-mate Timmy Mayer
with custom-built Cooper cars. Bruce won the 1964 series
, but Mayer was killed in practice for the final race, prompting his brother and manager Teddy Mayer
to become involved with the running of the team. In 1964 and 1965 McLaren were based in New Malden
, then Feltham
before settling on premises in Colnbrook
. During this period Bruce drove for his team in sports car races
in the United Kingdom and North America and also entered the 1965 Tasman Series
with Phil Hill
but didn't win it. He continued to drive in Grands Prix for Cooper but judging that team's form to be waning, decided to race his own cars in 1966.
Bruce made the team's Grand Prix debut at the 1966 Monaco race
(of the current Formula One teams only Ferrari
are older). His race ended after nine laps due to a terminal oil leak. The car was the M2B
designed by Robin Herd
but the programme was hampered by a poor choice of engines: a 3.0 litre version of Ford
's Indianapolis 500
engine and a Serenissima
V8
were used, the latter scoring the team's first point in Britain
, but both were underpowered and unreliable. For Bruce decided to use a British Racing Motors
(BRM) V12 engine
, but due to delays with the engine, was forced initially to use a modified Formula Two
car called the M4B
powered by a 2.1 litre BRM V8, later building a similar but slightly larger car called the M5A
for the V12. Neither car brought great success, the best result being a fourth at Monaco
.
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For , after driving McLaren's sole entry for the previous two years, Bruce was joined by 1967 champion and fellow New Zealander Denny Hulme
, who was already racing for McLaren in Can-Am. That year's new M7A
car, Herd's final design for the team, was powered by Cosworth
's new and soon to be ubiquitous DFV
engine (the DFV would go on to be used by McLaren until 1983) and with it a major upturn in form proceeded. Bruce won the Race of Champions
at the Brands Hatch
circuit and Hulme won the International Trophy
at Silverstone
, both non-championship races, before Bruce took the team's first championship win at the Belgian Grand Prix
. Hulme also won the Italian
and Canadian
Grands Prix later in the year, helping the team to second in the constructors' championship. Using an updated 'C' version on the M7, a further three podium finishes followed for Bruce in , but the team's fifth win had to wait until the last race of the 1969 championship when Hulme won the Mexican Grand Prix
. That year McLaren experimented with four-wheel drive
in the M9A but the car had only a single outing driven by Derek Bell
at the British Grand Prix
; Bruce described driving it as like "trying to write your signature with somebody jogging your elbow".
while testing the new M8D Can-Am car. After his death, Teddy Mayer took over effective control of the team; Hulme continued with Dan Gurney
and Peter Gethin
partnering him. Gurney won the first two Can-Am events at Mosport and St. Jovite and placed ninth in the third, but left the team mid-season, and Gethin took over from there. began promisingly when Hulme led the opening round in South Africa
before retiring with broken suspension, but ultimately Hulme, Gethin (who left for BRM mid-season) and Jackie Oliver
again failed to score a win. The 1972 season saw improvements though: Hulme won the team's first Grand Prix for two-and-a-half years in South Africa
and he and Peter Revson
scored ten other podiums, the team finishing third in the constructors' championship. McLaren gave Jody Scheckter
his Formula One debut at the final race
at Watkins Glen
.
The McLaren M23
, designed by Gordon Coppuck, was the team's new car for the 1973 Formula One season
. Sharing parts of the design of both McLaren's Formula One M19
and Indianapolis M16 cars (itself inspired by Lotus
's 72
), it was a mainstay for four years. Hulme won with it in Sweden
and Revson took the only Grand Prix wins of his career in Britain
and Canada
. In Emerson Fittipaldi
, world champion with Lotus two years earlier, joined McLaren. Hulme, in his final Formula One campaign, won the Argentinian
season-opener; Fittipaldi, with wins in Brazil
, Belgium
and Canada
, took the drivers' championship. It was a close fight for Fittipaldi who secured the title with a fourth at the season-ending United States Grand Prix
, putting him three points ahead of Ferrari's Clay Regazzoni
. With Hulme and multiple motorcycle world champion Mike Hailwood
he also sealed McLaren's first constructors' championship. was a less successful year for the team: Fittipaldi was second in the championship behind Niki Lauda
. Hulme's replacement Jochen Mass
took his sole GP win in Spain
.
At the end of 1975 Fittipaldi left to join his brother's Fittipaldi/Copersucar
team. With the top drivers already signed to other teams, Mayer turned to James Hunt
, a driver who biographer Gerald Donaldson reflected on as having "a dubious reputation". In Lauda was again strong in his Ferrari
; at mid season he led the championship with 56 points whilst Hunt had only 26 despite wins in Spain
(a race from which he was initially disqualified) and France
. But at the German Grand Prix
Lauda crashed heavily, was nearly killed and missed the next two races. Hunt capitalised by winning four more Grands Prix giving him a three-point deficit going into the finale in Japan
. Here it rained torentially, Lauda retired because of safety concerns and Hunt sealed the drivers' championship by finishing third. McLaren, though, lost the constructors' championship to Ferrari.
In the M23 was gradually replaced with the M26
, the M23's final works outing being Gilles Villeneuve
's Formula One debut with the team in a one-off appearance at the British Grand Prix
. Hunt won on three occasions that year but the Lauda and Ferrari combination proved too strong, Hunt and McLaren managing just fifth and third in the respective championships. From there, results continued to worsen. Lotus and Mario Andretti
took the titles with their 78
and 79
ground effect
cars and neither Hunt nor Mass's replacement Patrick Tambay
were able to seriously challenge with the non ground effect M26. Hunt was dropped at the end of 1978 in favour of Lotus's Ronnie Peterson
, but when Peterson was killed by a crash at the Italian Grand Prix
, John Watson
was signed instead. saw no improvement; Coppuck's M28
design was described by Mayer as "ghastly, a disaster" and "quite diabolical" and the M29
did little to change the situation. Tambay scored no points and Watson only 15 to place the team eighth at the end of the year.
The 1980s started much as the 1970s had ended: Alain Prost
took over from Tambay but he and Watson rarely scored points. Under increasing pressure since the previous year from principal sponsor Philip Morris
and their executive John Hogan, Mayer was coerced into merging McLaren with Ron Dennis
's Project Four Formula Two team, also sponsored by Philip Morris. Dennis had designer John Barnard
who, inspired by the carbon-fibre rear wings of the BMW M1
race cars that Project Four was preparing, had ideas for an innovative Formula One chassis constructed from carbon-fibre instead of conventional aluminium alloy
. On their own they lacked the money to build it, but with investment that came with the merger it became the McLaren MP4
(later called MP4/1) of , driven by Watson and Andrea de Cesaris
. In the MP4, Watson won the British Grand Prix
and had three other podium finishes. Soon after the merger McLaren moved from Colnbrook to a new base in Woking and whilst Dennis and Mayer initially shared the managing directorship of the company, by 1982 Mayer had departed and his and Tyler Alexander's shareholdings had been bought by the new owners.
In the early 1980s, teams like Renault
, Ferrari and Brabham were using 1.5 litre turbocharged
engines in favour of the 3.0 litre naturally aspirated engines that had been standard since 1966. Seeing the need for a turbo engine of their own, in Dennis convinced Williams backer Techniques d'Avant Garde
(TAG) to fund Porsche
-built, TAG-branded turbo engines made to Barnard's specifications; TAG's founder Mansour Ojjeh
would later become a McLaren shareholder. In the meantime, they continued with Cosworth engines as old rival Lauda came out of retirement to drive alongside Watson in that year's 1B development of the MP4. They each won two races, Watson notably from 17th place on the grid in Detroit, and McLaren were second in the constructors' title race. As part of a dispute with FISA
, the sport's governing body, they boycotted the San Marino Grand Prix
. was not so fruitful but Watson did win again in the United States, this time from 22nd on the grid at Long Beach
.
Having been fired by Renault, Prost was once again at McLaren for . Now using the TAG engines, the team dominated, scoring 12 wins and two-and-a-half times as many contructors' points as nearest rival Ferrari. In the drivers' championship, Lauda prevailed over Prost by half a point, the narrowest margin ever. The McLaren-TAGs were again strong in ; a third constructors' championship came their way whilst this time Prost won the drivers' championship. In , the Williams
team were resurgent with their Honda engine and drivers Nigel Mansell
and Nelson Piquet
, whilst at McLaren, Lauda's replacement, 1982 champion Keke Rosberg
couldn't gel with the car. Williams took the constructors' championship, but for Prost, wins in San Marino
, Monaco
and Austria
combined with the fact that the Williams drivers were taking points from each other meant that he retained a chance going into the last race, the Australian Grand Prix
. There, a puncture for Mansell and a precautionary pit stop for Piquet gave Prost the race win and his second title, making him the first driver to win back-to-back championships since Jack Brabham
in and 1960. In Barnard departed for Ferrari to be replaced by Steve Nichols
(who himself joined Ferrari in 1989). In the hands of Prost and Stefan Johansson
though, Nichols's MP4/3
and the TAG engine couldn't match the Williams-Honda.
For Honda switched their supply to McLaren and, encouraged by Prost, Dennis signed Ayrton Senna
to drive. Despite regulations reducing the boost pressure and fuel capacity (and therefore, power) of the turbo cars, Honda persisted with a turbocharged engine. In the MP4/4
, Senna and Prost engaged in a season long battle, winning 15 of the 16 races (at the other race at Monza
, Senna had been leading comfortably but collided with back-marker Jean-Louis Schlesser
). At the Portuguese Grand Prix
, their relationship soured when Senna squeezed Prost against the pit wall; Prost won but afterwards said, "It was dangerous. If he wants the world championship that badly he can have it." Prost scored more points that year, but due to the fact that only the best 11 results counted, it was Senna who took the title at the penultimate race in Japan
.
The next year, with turbos banned Honda supplied a new 3.5 L naturally aspirated V10 engine
and McLaren again won both titles with the MP4/5
. Their drivers' relationship continued to deteriorate though, especially when, at the San Marino Grand Prix
Prost felt that Senna had reneged on an agreement not to pass each other at the first corner. Believing that Honda and Dennis were favouring Senna, Prost announced mid-season that he would leave to drive at Ferrari the following year. For the second year in succession, the drivers' championship was decided at the Japanese Grand Prix
, this time in Prost's favour after he and Senna collided (Senna initially recovered and won the race but was later disqualified).
With former McLaren men Barnard, Nichols and Prost, Ferrari pushed the British team more closely in . McLaren in turn brought in Ferrari's Gerhard Berger
but, like the two seasons before, the drivers' championship was led by Prost and Senna and settled at the penultimate race in Japan
. Here, Senna collided with Prost at the first corner forcing both to retire, but this time Senna escaped punishment and took the title; McLaren also won the constructors' championship. was another McLaren and Senna year with the ascendent Renault
-powered Williams team their closest challengers. By Williams, with their advanced FW14B car, had overtaken McLaren breaking their four year run as champions, despite the latter winning four races.
Honda withdrew from the sport at end of the year and a deal to secure Renault engines fell through so McLaren switched to customer Ford
engines for the season. Senna—who initially agreed only to a race-by-race contract before later signing for the whole year—won five races, including a record-breaking sixth at Monaco
and at the European Grand Prix
where he went from fifth to first on opening lap. His team-mate 1991 IndyCar
champion Michael Andretti
fared much worse however; he scored only seven points and was replaced by test driver Mika Häkkinen
for the final three rounds. Williams ultimately won both titles and Senna—who had flirted with moving there for 1993—signed with them for the 1994 season
. During the 1993 season McLaren took part in a seven part BBC Television
documentary called A Season With McLaren
.
For , McLaren tested a Lamborghini
V12 engine as part of a prospective deal with then Lamborghini owner Chrysler
before eventually deciding to use Peugeot
engines. Thus powered, the MP4/9
was driven by Häkkinen and Martin Brundle
but no wins resulted and Peugeot was dropped after a single year in favour of a Mercedes-Benz
-branded, Ilmor
-designed engine. But the alliance with Mercedes started slowly: 's MP4/10
car was not a front-runner and Brundle's replacement, former champion Nigel Mansell was unable to fit into the car at first and departed after just two races with Mark Blundell
taking his place.
While Williams dominated in , McLaren, now with David Coulthard
alongside Häkkinen, went a third successive season without a win. But then Coulthard broke this run by winning 's season-opening Australian Grand Prix
and he and Häkkinen won another race each before the end of the year, whilst in August, highly rated designer Adrian Newey
joined from Williams. Despite the car's improved pace, unreliability proved costly throughout the season, with retirements at Britain and Luxembourg occurring whilst leading the race.
With Newey able to take advantage of new technical regulations for and Williams losing their works Renault engines, McLaren were once again able to challenge for the championship; F1 Racing
magazine stated that the only way to increase their championship hopes was to hire Ferrari's double champion Michael Schumacher
. Häkkinen and Coulthard won five of the first six races, despite the team's system that allowed the rear brakes to be operated individually in order to reduce understeer
being banned after a protest by Ferrari at the second race in Brazil
. It was Schumacher and Ferrari who provided the greatest competition, the former levelled on points with Häkkinen with two races to go, but wins for Häkkinen at the Luxembourg
and Japanese
Grands Prix gave both him the drivers' championship and McLaren the constructors' championship. The following season, Häkkinen won his second drivers' championship but due to a combination of driver errors and mechanical failures, the team lost the constructors' title to Ferrari.
was not a repeat of recent successes: McLaren won seven races in a close fight with Ferrari, but ultimately Ferrari and Schumacher prevailed in both competitions. This marked the start of a decline in form as Ferrari cemented their position at the head of Formula One. In , Häkkinen was out-scored by Coulthard for the first time since 1997 and retired (ending Formula One's longest ever driver partnership), his place taken by Kimi Räikkönen
, then in Coulthard took their solitary win at Monaco
while Ferrari repeated McLaren's 1988 feat of 15 wins in a season.
started very promisingly, with one win each for Coulthard and Räikkönen at the first two Grands Prix. However, they were hampered when the MP4-18
car designed for that year suffered crash test and reliability problems, forcing them to use a 'D' development of the year-old MP4-17
. Despite this, Räikkönen scored points consistently and challenged for the championship up to the final race, eventually losing by two points. The team began 2004
with the MP4-19
, which technical director Adrian Newey described as "a debugged version of [the MP4-18]." It was not a success though, and was replaced mid-season by the MP4-19B. With this, Räikkönen scored his and the team's only win of the year at the Belgian Grand Prix
, as McLaren finished fifth in the constructors' championship, their worst ranking since 1983.
Coulthard left for Red Bull Racing
in to be replaced by former CART champion Juan Pablo Montoya
for what was McLaren's most successful season in several years as he and Räikkönen won ten races. However, the unreliability of the MP4-20
cost a number of race victories when Räikkönen had been leading or in contention to win allowing Renault and their driver Fernando Alonso
to capitalise and win both titles. In the team failed to build on the previous year's good form as the superior reliability and speed of the Ferraris and Renaults prevented the team from gaining any victories for the first time in a decade. Montoya parted company acrimoniously with the team to race in NASCAR
after the United States Grand Prix
where he crashed into Räikkönen at the start; test driver Pedro de la Rosa
deputised for the remainder of the season. The team also lost Räikkönen to Ferrari at the end of the year.
Steve Matchett
argued that the poor reliability of McLaren in 2006 and recent previous years was due to a lack of team continuity and stability. His cited examples of instability are logistical challenges related to the move to the McLaren Technology Centre
, Adrian Newey's aborted move to Jaguar
and later move to Red Bull, the subsequent move of Newey's deputy to Red Bull and personnel changes at Ilmor.
The season saw Fernando Alonso, who had been contracted over a year previously, race alongside Formula One debutant and long-time McLaren protege Lewis Hamilton
. The pair scored four wins each and led the drivers' championship for much of the year, but tensions arose within the team, some commentators claiming that Alonso was unable to cope with Hamilton's competitiveness. At the Hungarian Grand Prix
Alonso was judged to have deliberately impeded his team-mate during qualifying and so the team were not allowed to score constructors' points at the event. Subsequently the McLaren team were investigated by the FIA for being in possession of proprietary detailed technical blueprints of Ferrari's car – the so-called "Spygate" controversy
. At the first hearing McLaren management consistently denied all knowledge, blaming a single "rogue engineer". However, in the final hearing McLaren were found guilty and the team were excluded from the constructors' championship and fined $100M. The drivers were allowed to continue without penalty, and whilst Hamilton led the drivers' championship heading into the final race in Brazil
, it was Räikkönen in the Ferrari who won the race and the drivers' championship, a single point ahead of both McLaren drivers. In November, Alonso and McLaren agreed to terminate their contract by mutual consent, Heikki Kovalainen
filling the vacant seat alongside Hamilton.
In a close fight ensued between Hamilton and the Ferraris of Felipe Massa
and Räikkönen; Hamilton won five times and despite also crossing the finish line first at the Belgian Grand Prix
he was deemed to have gained an illegal advantage by cutting a chicane during an overtake and was controversially demoted to third. Going into the final race in Brazil
Hamilton had a seven point lead over Massa. Massa won there but Hamilton dramatically clinched his first drivers' championship by moving into the necessary fifth position at the final corner of the final lap of the race. Despite winning his first Grand Prix in Hungary
, Kovalainen finished the season only seventh in the overall standings, allowing Ferrari to take the constructors' title.
Before the start of the 2009 season
, Dennis retired as team principal, handing responsibility to Martin Whitmarsh
. But the year started badly: the MP4-24
car was off the pace and the team was given a three race suspended ban for misleading stewards at the Australian
and Malaysian
Grands Prix. Despite these early problems, a late revival saw Hamilton win at the Hungarian
and Singapore
Grands Prix. McLaren signed that year's champion, Jenson Button
, to replace Kovalainen alongside Hamilton in . Button won twice (in Australia
and China
) and Hamilton three times (in Turkey
, Canada
and Belgium
), but they and McLaren failed to win their respective championships, that year's MP4-25
largely out-paced by Red Bull's RB6
.
Hamilton and Button remained with the team into , with Hamilton taking the team's first victory of the season in China
, after he had a better race strategy than championship leader Sebastian Vettel
. Button took a victory in Canada
, after Vettel went wide on the last lap allowing Button to pass for victory. As of the 16th race, McLaren is the only constructor besides Red Bull to have won multiple races in 2011. Hamilton won again in Germany
, making him the only other driver at that point in the season, besides current leader Vettel, to win more than one race. Button then won the Hungarian Grand Prix on 31 July, bringing McLaren their 4th race win of the 2011 season and Button his 2nd, equal with Lewis Hamilton. Button later added a third victory at the , as did Hamilton, at the .
McLaren's first Can-Am entrant was the M1B, which Bruce and Chris Amon
raced in the series' inaugural, 1966 season
. With it, they led two races but scored no wins. The following year Robin Herd purpose-designed the Chevrolet
V8 powered M6A
, delays with the Formula One programme allowing the team to spend extra resources on developing the Can-Am car which was the first to be painted in McLaren orange. With Denny Hulme now partnering Bruce, they won five out of six races and Bruce won the championship, setting the pattern for the next four years. In 1968
they used a new car, the M8, to win four races—non-works McLarens took the other two—but this time Hulme was victorious overall. 1969
saw McLaren domination become total as they won all eleven races with the M8B; Hulme won five, Bruce won six and the driver's championship. McLaren's success in Can-Am brought with it financial rewards, both prize money and money from selling cars to other teams, that helped to support the team and fund the nascent and relatively poor paying Formula One programme.
When Bruce was killed testing the 1970 season
's M8D, he was at first replaced by Dan Gurney
, then later by Peter Gethin
. They won two and one races respectively while Hulme won six on the way to the championship. In 1971
the team saw off the challenge of 1969 world champion Jackie Stewart
in the Lola T260, winning eight races, with Peter Revson taking the title. Hulme also won three Can-Am races in 1972
but the McLaren M20
was defeated by the Porsche 917/10
s of Mark Donohue
and George Follmer
. Faced by the greater resources of Porsche, McLaren decided to abandon Can-Am at the end of 1972 and focus solely on open-wheel racing
. When the original Can-Am series ceased at the end of 1974
, McLaren were by far the most successful constructor with 43 wins.
, encouraged by their tyre supplier Goodyear
who wanted to break competitor Firestone
's stranglehold on the event. With the M15 car, Bruce, Chris Amon and Denny Hulme entered, but after Amon withdrew and Hulme was severely burned on the hands in an incident in practice, Peter Revson and Carl Williams
took their places in the race to retire and finish seventh respectively. The team also contested some of the more prestigious races in the USAC championship that year, as they would do in subsequent years. For 1971 they had a new car, the M16, which driver Mark Donohue said "...obsoleted every other car on track..." At that year's Indianapolis 500, Revson qualified on pole and finished second, whilst in 1972
, Donohue won in privateer
Team Penske's M16B. The 1973
event saw Johnny Rutherford
join the team; he qualifed on pole but finished ninth, Revson crashed out. McLaren won their first Indianapolis 500 in 1974
with Rutherford. The McLaren and Rutherford combination was second in 1975
and won again in 1976
. Developments of the M16 had been used throughout this period until the new M24 car was introduced in 1977. The team didn't reproduce their recent success at Indianapolis in 1977
, 1978
or 1979
, and although they continued to win other USAC races, by the end of 1979 they decided to end their involvement.
, Formula 5000
and sports racing cars that were sold to customers. Lacking the capacity to build the desired numbers, Trojan
was subcontracted
to construct some of them. In Can-Am, Trojan built customer versions of the M6 and M8 cars and ex-works cars were sold to privateers when new models arrived; half of the field were McLarens at some races. Author Mark Hughes
says that "over 220" McLarens were built by Trojan. In USAC competition and Formula One too, many teams used McLarens during the late 1960s and 1970s. In the mid 1990s, McLaren Racing's sister company, McLaren Cars (now McLaren Automotive) built a racing version of their F1
road car, the F1 GTR
which won the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans
and the 1995 and 1996 BPR Global GT Series
. More recently, a GT3 version of their new MP4-12C
road car was announced, and will be entered by CRS Racing in the FIA GT3 European Championship
.
McLaren Racing is part of the McLaren Group which includes five other associated companies; in 2009 the Group was said to have "more than 1300" employees. Since 2004 the team has been based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, United Kingdom. Facilities there include a wind tunnel and a driving simulator which is said to be the most sophisticated in the sport. Their Mercedes engines are built by the car-maker's Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines subsidiary in Brixworth
, Northamptonshire.
team and began to sell back their McLaren stake. By March 2010 Daimler retained 11% of McLaren although they will continue as a sponsor and engine supplier to the team until 2015.
, as well as with the commercial rights holder of the sport. In the early 1980s McLaren were involved, along with the other teams of the Formula One Constructors Association
, in a dispute over control of the sport with FISA and the teams of car manufactuers Alfa Romeo, Renault and Ferrari. This was known as the FISA-FOCA war
and saw a breakaway series threatened, FISA refusing to sancation one race and another race boycotted by FOCA. It was eventually resolved by a revenue sharing deal called the Concorde Agreement
. Subsequent Concorde Agreements were signed in 1987 and 1992 but in 1996 McLaren were again one of the teams pitched into dispute over the terms of a new agreement, this time with former FOCA president Bernie Ecclestone
's Formula One Promotions and Administration organisation. McLaren rejected the Concorde Agreement of 1997 before signing a new ten-year agreement in 1998. Arguments over the commercial structure and regulations in the sport re-started in the mid-2000s with McLaren and their part owner Mercedes again amongst teams threatening to start a rival series until 2009 when another Concorde Agreement, effective until the end of 2012, was settled upon. In 2007 McLaren were involved in an espionage controversy
after their chief designer Mike Coughlan
obtained confidential technical information from Ferrari. McLaren was excluded from the constructors' championship and fined 100 million US dollars.
and FIA governing bodies
relaxed their rules about on-car advertising in 1968 allowing Lotus to pioneer commercial sponsorship in Formula One with their Gold Leaf liveried cars. Thus in 1972, the Yardley
cosmetics company became McLaren's first title sponsor and the colour scheme changed to a predominantly white one. In 1974, Philip Morris
joined as title sponsor through their Marlboro cigarette brand, whilst one car continued to run—ostensibly by a separate team—with Yardley livery for the year. Marlboro's red-and-white branding lasted until 1996, during which time the team went by various names incorporating the word "Marlboro", making it the then longest running Formula One sponsorship (now surpassed by Hugo Boss
's 1981–present deal with McLaren). It was then replaced by Reemtsma
's West
cigarette branding and a silver-and-black livery in 1997, the official name becoming West McLaren Mercedes.
By mid-2005, a European Union directive banning tobacco advertising
caused McLaren to end its association with West. For the 2006 season a red-and-silver colour scheme was adopted as they went without a title sponsor and were known simply as Team McLaren Mercedes, before the start of their current deal with Vodafone
in 2007, since when the official team name has been Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. Aside from title sponsors, other current sponsors and suppliers include Diageo
(Johnnie Walker
whisky brand), Aigo
, Aral
, Bosch
, FedEx, Hugo Boss
, H&R, Hilton Hotels
, Kenwood, Mazak
, Mobil 1
, Sandtler, Santander
, SAP
, Stihl
, Lenovo, Sparco
, X-Trade Brokers, Reebok
and Würth
.
McLaren's early cars were named simply with the letter M followed by a number and sometimes a letter denoting the model. Since the 1981 merger with Project Four, the cars have been called "MP4/x", or since 2001 "MP4-x", where x is the generation of the chassis (e.g. MP4/1
, MP4-22
). "MP4" stood initially for "Marlboro Project 4", so that the full title of the cars (McLaren MP4/x) reflected not only the historical name of the team, but also the names of the team's major sponsor and its new component part. Since the change of title sponsor in 1997, "MP4" is now said to stand for "McLaren Project 4".
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
team based in Woking
Woking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
and Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am). The team is the second oldest active team (after Ferrari) and one of the most successful teams in Formula One, having won 175 races, 12 drivers' championships and 8 constructors' championships.
Founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren
Bruce McLaren
Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor....
, the team won its first Grand Prix at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix
1968 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1968 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on June 9, 1968. It was the fourth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* This was the first race where wings were used on an F1 car...
but their greatest initial success was in Can-Am, where they dominated from 1967 to 1971. Further American triumph followed, with Indianapolis 500 wins in McLaren cars for Mark Donohue
Mark Donohue
Mark Neary Donohue, Jr. , nicknamed "Captain Nice", was an American racecar driver known for his ability to set up his own race car as well as driving it to victories. Donohue is probably best known as the driver of the 1500+ bhp “Can-Am Killer” Porsche 917-30 and as the winner of the 1972...
in 1972
1972 Indianapolis 500
The 1972 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 27, 1972.Gary Bettenhausen leads 138 laps until his engine blows on lap 176. Jerry Grant gets the lead but pits for new tires on lap 188 in team mate Bobby Unser’s pit. Bettenhausen’s Penske team mate Mark Donohue...
and Johnny Rutherford
Johnny Rutherford
For the Major League Baseball pitcher, see Johnny Rutherford . For other people with a similar name, see John RutherfordJohn Sherman Rutherford III , better known as Johnny Rutherford, and also known as "Lone Star JR" is a former U.S...
in 1974
1974 Indianapolis 500
The 58th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 26, 1974. Johnny Rutherford, in his eleventh attempt, won the race from the 25th starting position, the farthest back since Fred Frame in 1932....
and 1976
1976 Indianapolis 500
The 1976 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 30, 1976.Rain stopped the race on lap 102. Two hours later, the race was about to be restarted, but the rain fell again. Officials called the race at that point and Johnny Rutherford was declared the winner...
. After Bruce McLaren died in a testing accident in 1970, Teddy Mayer
Teddy Mayer
Edward Everett "Teddy" Mayer was an American motor racing entrepreneur who was successful in several categories of racing, including Formula One and IndyCars....
took over and led the team to their first Formula One constructors' championship in 1974
1974 Formula One season
The 1974 Formula One season was the 25th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1974 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, contested concurrently over a fifteen race series which commenced on 13 January and ended on 6 October...
, with Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:...
and James Hunt
James Hunt
James Simon Wallis Hunt was a British racing driver from England who won the Formula One World Championship in . Hunt's often action packed exploits on track earned him the nickname "Hunt the Shunt." After retiring from driving, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman...
winning the drivers' championship in 1974 and 1976
1976 Formula One season
The 1976 Formula One season included the 27th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on January 25, 1976, and ended on October 24 after sixteen races...
respectively. 1974 also marked the start of a long standing sponsorship by Phillip Morris
Altria Group
Altria Group, Inc. is based in Henrico County, Virginia, and is the parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc., U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corporation, and Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. It is one of the world's largest tobacco corporations...
' Marlboro cigarette brand.
In 1981 McLaren merged with Ron Dennis
Ron Dennis
Ronald "Ron" Dennis CBE is the executive chairman of McLaren Automotive and McLaren Group, and is also a significant shareholder in both companies...
' Project Four Racing; Dennis took over as team principal and shortly after organised a buyout of the original McLaren shareholders to take full control of the team. This began the team's most successful era: with Porsche
Porsche in motorsport
Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long distance races.Despite their early involvement in motorsports being limited to supplying relatively small engines to racing underdogs up until the late 1960s, by the mid-1950s Porsche had already tasted...
and Honda engines, Niki Lauda
Niki Lauda
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines and was manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years.- Early years in racing :Born in Vienna,...
, Alain Prost
Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix...
and Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time...
took between them seven drivers' championships and McLaren six constructors' championships. The combination of Prost and Senna was particularly dominant—together they won all but one race in 1988
1988 Formula One season
The 1988 Formula One season was the 39th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1988 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on April 3, 1988 and ended on November 13 after sixteen races...
—but later their rivalry soured and Prost left for Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
. Fellow English team Williams offered the most consistent challenge during this period, the two winning every constructors' title between 1984
1984 Formula One season
The 1984 Formula One season was the 35th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1984 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1984 Fomula One World Championship for Manufacturers which were contested concurrently over a sixteen race series which commenced on March 25,...
and 1994
1994 Formula One season
The 1994 Formula One season was the 45th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1994 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on March 27, 1994, and ended on November 13 after sixteen races. The season is remembered as one of the most tragic and controversial seasons in...
. However, by the mid-1990s Honda had withdrawn from Formula One, Senna had moved to Williams and the team went three seasons without a win. With Mercedes-Benz engines, West
West (cigarette)
West is a German tobacco brand owned by the British company Imperial Tobacco.The cigarettes are available in most European Union countries except the UK and Ireland. The brand is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.-History:...
sponsorship and former Williams designer Adrian Newey
Adrian Newey
Adrian Newey is a notable Formula One engineer and widely regarded one of the great engineers in the sport's history. He is the only designer to have won Constructors Championships with three different Formula One teams...
, further championships came in 1998
1998 Formula One season
The 1998 Formula One season was the 49th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 8, 1998, and ended on November 1 after sixteen races.-Season summary:...
and 1999
1999 Formula One season
The 1999 Formula One season was the 50th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 7, 1999, and ended on October 31 after sixteen races. The season saw the introduction of a new event to the World Championship calendar, the Malaysian Grand Prix...
with driver Mika Häkkinen
Mika Häkkinen
Mika Pauli Häkkinen is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion...
and during the 2000s the team were consistent front-runners, driver Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...
taking their latest title in 2008
2008 Formula One season
The 2008 Formula One season was the 59th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It began on 16 March and ended on 2 November with eighteen Grand Prix races....
. In 2009 Dennis retired as team principal of McLaren handing the former role to longtime McLaren employee Martin Whitmarsh
Martin Whitmarsh
Martin Whitmarsh is the CEO of McLaren Racing, a subsidiary company of the McLaren Group and Chief Operating Officer of that group, as well as Team Principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, following Ron Dennis' retirement on 1 March 2009...
.
Origins
Bruce McLaren
Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor....
. Bruce was a works
Factory-backed
Factory-backed is a term commonly used in motorsports to describe a sponsored racing team, car, motorcycle or driver that competes with official sanction and financial support, or "backing" from a manufacturer. As motorsports competition is an expensive endeavor, some degree of factory support is...
driver for the British Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
team Cooper
Cooper Car Company
The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
with whom he had won three Grands Prix
Grand Prix motor racing
Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. It quickly evolved from a simple road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver...
and come second in the 1960 world championship
1960 Formula One season
The 1960 Formula One season featured the eleventh FIA World Championship of Drivers, the third International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and numerous non-championship Formula One races...
. Wanting to compete in the Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
n Tasman Series
Tasman Series
The Tasman Series was a motor racing series held from 1964 to 1975, in Australia and New Zealand, and named after the Tasman Sea between the two countries...
, Bruce approached his employers, but when team owner Charles Cooper insisted on using 1.5 litre Formula One-specification engines instead of the 2.5 litre motors permitted by the Tasman rules, Bruce decided to set up his own team to run him and his prospective Formula One team-mate Timmy Mayer
Timmy Mayer
Timothy Mayer , was a racecar driver from Dalton, Pennsylvania in the United States. He participated in one World Championship Formula One Grand Prix, on October 7, 1962. He retired with ignition failure and scored no championship points.Mayer's older brother Teddy was one of the founders of the...
with custom-built Cooper cars. Bruce won the 1964 series
1964 Tasman Series
The 1964 Tasman Series was the first Tasman Series season. It began on 4 January 1964 and ended on 2 March after eight races.The series was won by Bruce McLaren, the only one of the four race winning drivers who attended all eight races, a trifecta of wins in New Zealand setting up the...
, but Mayer was killed in practice for the final race, prompting his brother and manager Teddy Mayer
Teddy Mayer
Edward Everett "Teddy" Mayer was an American motor racing entrepreneur who was successful in several categories of racing, including Formula One and IndyCars....
to become involved with the running of the team. In 1964 and 1965 McLaren were based in New Malden
New Malden
New Malden is a town and shopping centre in the south-western London suburbs, mostly within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and partly in the London Borough of Merton, and is situated from Charing Cross...
, then Feltham
Feltham
Feltham is a town in the London Borough of Hounslow, west London. It is located about west south west of central London at Charing Cross and from Heathrow Airport Central...
before settling on premises in Colnbrook
Colnbrook
Colnbrook is a large village in the unitary authority of Slough, in Berkshire, England. It is situated southeast of central Slough, east of Windsor and west of central London....
. During this period Bruce drove for his team in sports car races
Sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....
in the United Kingdom and North America and also entered the 1965 Tasman Series
1965 Tasman Series
The 1965 Tasman Series was the second Tasman Series season. It began on 9 January 1965 and ended on 1 March after seven races.-Races:- Standings :...
with Phil Hill
Phil Hill
Philip Toll Hill, Jr., was a United States automobile racer and the only American-born driver to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Hill was described as a "thoughtful, gentle man" and once said, "I'm in the wrong business. I don't want to beat anybody, I don't want to be the big hero...
but didn't win it. He continued to drive in Grands Prix for Cooper but judging that team's form to be waning, decided to race his own cars in 1966.
1960s
1966 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1966 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Monaco on May 22, 1966. It was the opening round of the 1966 Formula One season, the first of a new era for Formula One, the 'return to power' as engine regulations were altered from 1.5 litres of maximum engine...
(of the current Formula One teams only Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
are older). His race ended after nine laps due to a terminal oil leak. The car was the M2B
McLaren M2B
The McLaren M2B was the McLaren team's first Formula One racing car, used during the 1966 season. It was conceived in 1965 and preceded by the M2A development car. Designed by Robin Herd, the innovative but problematic Mallite material was used in its construction...
designed by Robin Herd
Robin Herd
Robin Herd is an English engineer, designer and businessman.Herd graduated from St Peter's College, Oxford with a double first in physics and engineering, before joining the Royal Aircraft Establishment in 1961 as a design engineer on the Concorde supersonic aircraft project...
but the programme was hampered by a poor choice of engines: a 3.0 litre version of Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
's Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
engine and a Serenissima
Scuderia Serenissima
Scuderia Serenissima was a successful auto racing team in the early 1960s. Funded by Giovanni Volpi, Serenissima used Ferraris to much success until the founder financed the exiled Ferrari company, ATS...
V8
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
were used, the latter scoring the team's first point in Britain
1966 British Grand Prix
The 1966 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on July 16, 1966. It was the fourth round of the 1966 World Championship. It was the 21st British Grand Prix and the second to be held at Brands Hatch...
, but both were underpowered and unreliable. For Bruce decided to use a British Racing Motors
British Racing Motors
British Racing Motors was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945, it raced from 1950 to 1977, competing in 197 Grands Prix and winning 17. In 1962, BRM won the Constructors' Title. At the same time, its driver, Graham Hill became World Champion...
(BRM) V12 engine
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
, but due to delays with the engine, was forced initially to use a modified Formula Two
Formula Two
Formula Two, abbreviated to F2, is a type of open wheel formula racing. It was replaced by Formula 3000 in 1985, but the FIA announced in 2008 that Formula Two would return for 2009 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship...
car called the M4B
McLaren M4B
The McLaren M4B was a Formula One racing car constructed by Trojan for Bruce McLaren Motor Racing and raced five times by New Zealander Bruce McLaren at the start of 1967.The M4B was based on the M4A Formula 2 car as a stopgap between the M2B and the M5A...
powered by a 2.1 litre BRM V8, later building a similar but slightly larger car called the M5A
McLaren M5A
The McLaren M5A/1 was a racing car constructed by Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, and was McLaren's first purpose-built Formula One car. Like its M4B predecessor, only one car of this type was ever built...
for the V12. Neither car brought great success, the best result being a fourth at Monaco
1964 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1964 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on May 10, 1964. Peter Arundell scored his first podium finish, and Mike Hailwood his first point.-Classification:-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings...
.
Denny Hulme
Denis Clive "Denny" Hulme, OBE was a New Zealand racing driver, the 1967 Formula One World Champion for the Brabham team....
, who was already racing for McLaren in Can-Am. That year's new M7A
McLaren M7A
The McLaren M7A and its M7B, M7C and M7D variants were Formula One racing cars, built by McLaren and used in the world championship between 1968 and 1971...
car, Herd's final design for the team, was powered by Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
's new and soon to be ubiquitous DFV
Cosworth DFV
The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine...
engine (the DFV would go on to be used by McLaren until 1983) and with it a major upturn in form proceeded. Bruce won the Race of Champions
Race of Champions (Brands Hatch)
The Race of Champions was a non-championship Formula One motor race held at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, United Kingdom between 1965 and 1979, and again in 1983. It often attracted high quality entries from the Formula One World Championship. The first race was won by Mike Spence...
at the Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...
circuit and Hulme won the International Trophy
1968 BRDC International Trophy
The 20th BRDC International Trophy was a non-championship Formula One race held at Silverstone on April 25, 1968.-Classification:-References:...
at Silverstone
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and Banbury...
, both non-championship races, before Bruce took the team's first championship win at the Belgian Grand Prix
1968 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1968 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on June 9, 1968. It was the fourth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* This was the first race where wings were used on an F1 car...
. Hulme also won the Italian
1968 Italian Grand Prix
The 1968 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Monza Autodrome on September 8, 1968. It was the ninth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings...
and Canadian
1968 Canadian Grand Prix
The 1968 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Mont-Tremblant Circuit on September 22, 1968. It was the tenth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings...
Grands Prix later in the year, helping the team to second in the constructors' championship. Using an updated 'C' version on the M7, a further three podium finishes followed for Bruce in , but the team's fifth win had to wait until the last race of the 1969 championship when Hulme won the Mexican Grand Prix
1969 Mexican Grand Prix
The 1969 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on October 19, 1969.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jack Brabham - 1:42.90*Fastest lap: Jacky Ickx - 1:43.05 on lap 64-Standings after the race:...
. That year McLaren experimented with four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
in the M9A but the car had only a single outing driven by Derek Bell
Derek Bell (auto racer)
Derek Reginald Bell MBE is a former racing driver from England who was extremely successful in sportscar racing, winning five times at Le Mans. He also raced in Formula One for the Ferrari, McLaren, Surtees and Tecno teams...
at the British Grand Prix
1969 British Grand Prix
The 1969 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit on July 19, 1969. It was the sixth round of the 1969 Formula One season...
; Bruce described driving it as like "trying to write your signature with somebody jogging your elbow".
1970s
started with a second place each for Hulme and Bruce in the first two Grands Prix, but in June Bruce was killed in a crash at GoodwoodGoodwood Circuit
Goodwood Circuit is an historic venue for both two- and four-wheeled motorsport in the United Kingdom. The 2.4 mile circuit is situated near Chichester, West Sussex, close to the south coast of England, on the estate of Goodwood House, and completely encircles Chichester/Goodwood Airport...
while testing the new M8D Can-Am car. After his death, Teddy Mayer took over effective control of the team; Hulme continued with Dan Gurney
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager...
and Peter Gethin
Peter Gethin
Peter Kenneth Gethin is a former racing driver.He participated in 31 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 21 June 1970. He won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix in the fastest average speed in Formula One history , but this was his only podium finish...
partnering him. Gurney won the first two Can-Am events at Mosport and St. Jovite and placed ninth in the third, but left the team mid-season, and Gethin took over from there. began promisingly when Hulme led the opening round in South Africa
1970 South African Grand Prix
The 1970 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on March 7, 1970. It was the first round of the 1970 Formula One season...
before retiring with broken suspension, but ultimately Hulme, Gethin (who left for BRM mid-season) and Jackie Oliver
Jackie Oliver
Keith Jack Oliver, better known as Jackie Oliver, is a British former Formula One driver and team-owner from England...
again failed to score a win. The 1972 season saw improvements though: Hulme won the team's first Grand Prix for two-and-a-half years in South Africa
1972 South African Grand Prix
The 1972 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Kyalami on March 4, 1972.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings...
and he and Peter Revson
Peter Revson
Peter Jeffrey Revson was an American race car driver who had successes in Formula One and the Indianapolis 500.-Background:Peter Revson was born in New York City, the son of Julie and Martin Revson....
scored ten other podiums, the team finishing third in the constructors' championship. McLaren gave Jody Scheckter
Jody Scheckter
Jody David Scheckter is a South African former auto racing driver, the Formula One World Drivers Champion.-Career:Scheckter was born in East London, South Africa and educated at Selborne College.-Formula One:...
his Formula One debut at the final race
1972 United States Grand Prix
The 1972 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 8, 1972 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:...
at Watkins Glen
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International is an auto race track located near Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. The facility is owned by International Speedway Corporation...
.
McLaren M23
The McLaren M23 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck, with input from John Barnard, and built by the McLaren team. It was a development of the McLaren M16 Indianapolis 500 car. A Ford Cosworth DFV engine was used, which was prepared by specialist tuning company Nicholson Engines...
, designed by Gordon Coppuck, was the team's new car for the 1973 Formula One season
1973 Formula One season
The 1973 Formula One season included the 24th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on January 28, 1973, and ended on October 7 after fifteen races.-Season summary:...
. Sharing parts of the design of both McLaren's Formula One M19
McLaren M19A
The McLaren M19A is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren in three World Championship seasons between 1971 and 1973. The C version was used in the and 1973 seasons.-External links:...
and Indianapolis M16 cars (itself inspired by Lotus
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
's 72
Lotus 72
The Lotus 72 was a Formula One car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe of Lotus for the 1970 Formula One season.- Development :The 72 was yet another innovative design by Chapman featuring inboard brakes, side mounted radiators in sidepods, as opposed to the nose mounted radiators which...
), it was a mainstay for four years. Hulme won with it in Sweden
1973 Swedish Grand Prix
The 1973 Swedish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Scandinavian Raceway on June 17, 1973.Ronnie Peterson's success with Team Lotus was the catalyst for a Swedish Grand Prix and the race was held for the first time in 1973 at the grandly-named Scandinavian Raceway.Peterson did not...
and Revson took the only Grand Prix wins of his career in Britain
1973 British Grand Prix
The 1973 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone Circuit on July 14, 1973.The race is known for the first lap pile-up which ultimately caused eleven cars to retire. The accident happened when Jody Scheckter spun out of fourth place and into the center of the track coming...
and Canada
1973 Canadian Grand Prix
The 1973 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Mosport Park on September 23, 1973.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Ronnie Peterson - 1:13.697* Fastest lap: Emerson Fittipaldi - 1:15.496...
. In Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:...
, world champion with Lotus two years earlier, joined McLaren. Hulme, in his final Formula One campaign, won the Argentinian
1974 Argentine Grand Prix
The 1974 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held in Buenos Aires on January 13, 1974.-Start-of-season preliminaries:It had been one of the most frantic close seasons ever with only Ronnie Peterson, Denny Hulme, Carlos Reutemann and James Hunt remaining with their teams. Emerson Fittipaldi...
season-opener; Fittipaldi, with wins in Brazil
1974 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 1974 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Interlagos on January 27, 1974.- Race summary :Emerson Fittipaldi took pole position for his home race from Carlos Reutemann. The start of the race was delayed as the track had to be swept clear of broken glass from over-exuberant...
, Belgium
1974 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1974 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nivelles on May 12, 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Clay Regazzoni - 1:09.82*Fastest lap: Denny Hulme - 1:11.31 on lap 37-Standings after the race:...
and Canada
1974 Canadian Grand Prix
The 1974 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on September 22, 1974.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Emerson Fittipaldi - 1:13.188*Fastest lap: Niki Lauda - 1:13.659 on lap 60*First race: Penske...
, took the drivers' championship. It was a close fight for Fittipaldi who secured the title with a fourth at the season-ending United States Grand Prix
1974 United States Grand Prix
The 1974 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 6, 1974, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:...
, putting him three points ahead of Ferrari's Clay Regazzoni
Clay Regazzoni
Gianclaudio Giuseppe "Clay" Regazzoni was a Swiss racing car driver. He competed in Formula One races from 1970 to 1980, winning five Grands Prix. His first win was the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in his debut season, driving for Ferrari. He remained with the Italian team until...
. With Hulme and multiple motorcycle world champion Mike Hailwood
Mike Hailwood
Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, MBE, GM was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time. He was known as "Mike The Bike" because of his natural riding ability...
he also sealed McLaren's first constructors' championship. was a less successful year for the team: Fittipaldi was second in the championship behind Niki Lauda
Niki Lauda
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines and was manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years.- Early years in racing :Born in Vienna,...
. Hulme's replacement Jochen Mass
Jochen Mass
Jochen Richard Mass is a former race car driver from Germany.He participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on July 14, 1973 at the British Grand Prix...
took his sole GP win in Spain
1974 Spanish Grand Prix
The 1974 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jarama on April 28, 1974.- Race summary :With James Hunt's Hesketh having won the International Trophy, the season was one of the most open ever, with four different drivers from different teams having won the first four races and a...
.
At the end of 1975 Fittipaldi left to join his brother's Fittipaldi/Copersucar
Fittipaldi Automotive
Fittipaldi Automotive, sometimes called Copersucar after its first major sponsor, was the only Formula One motor racing team and constructor ever to be based in Brazil. It was formed during 1974 by racing driver Wilson Fittipaldi and his younger brother, double world champion Emerson, with money...
team. With the top drivers already signed to other teams, Mayer turned to James Hunt
James Hunt
James Simon Wallis Hunt was a British racing driver from England who won the Formula One World Championship in . Hunt's often action packed exploits on track earned him the nickname "Hunt the Shunt." After retiring from driving, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman...
, a driver who biographer Gerald Donaldson reflected on as having "a dubious reputation". In Lauda was again strong in his Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
; at mid season he led the championship with 56 points whilst Hunt had only 26 despite wins in Spain
1976 Spanish Grand Prix
The 1976 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jarama on May 2, 1976, and was the fourth round of the 1976 Formula One season. The race, which was contested over 75 laps, was won by James Hunt who drove a McLaren-Ford to take his first victory of the year...
(a race from which he was initially disqualified) and France
1976 French Grand Prix
The 1976 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Paul Ricard on July 4, 1976.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: James Hunt - 1:47.89*Fastest lap: Niki Lauda - 1:51.0 on lap 4...
. But at the German Grand Prix
1976 German Grand Prix
The 1976 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Nürburgring on 1 August 1976, and is notable as the location of Niki Lauda's near fatal accident...
Lauda crashed heavily, was nearly killed and missed the next two races. Hunt capitalised by winning four more Grands Prix giving him a three-point deficit going into the finale in Japan
1976 Japanese Grand Prix
The 1976 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Fuji on October 24, 1976.The 1976 World Championship was to be decided at the Mount Fuji circuit, with Niki Lauda just three points ahead of James Hunt after a season full of incidents including Lauda's near-fatal crash at the Nürburgring...
. Here it rained torentially, Lauda retired because of safety concerns and Hunt sealed the drivers' championship by finishing third. McLaren, though, lost the constructors' championship to Ferrari.
In the M23 was gradually replaced with the M26
McLaren M26
The McLaren M26 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck for the McLaren team, to replace the aging McLaren M23 model. The car was designed to be a lighter and lower car than its predecessor, with a smaller frontal area and narrower monocoque...
, the M23's final works outing being Gilles Villeneuve
Gilles Villeneuve
Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve, better known as Gilles Villeneuve , was a Canadian racing driver. An enthusiast of cars and fast driving from an early age, he started his professional career in snowmobile racing in his native province of Quebec...
's Formula One debut with the team in a one-off appearance at the British Grand Prix
1977 British Grand Prix
The 1977 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 16 July 1977. It was won by James Hunt driving a McLaren M26, and marked the debut of Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve...
. Hunt won on three occasions that year but the Lauda and Ferrari combination proved too strong, Hunt and McLaren managing just fifth and third in the respective championships. From there, results continued to worsen. Lotus and Mario Andretti
Mario Andretti
Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
took the titles with their 78
Lotus 78
The Lotus 78 'wing car' was a Formula One racing car used in the and seasons. It was designed by Peter Wright, Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie and Tony Rudd, and was the car that started the ground effect revolution in Formula One.-Concept:...
and 79
Lotus 79
The Lotus 79 was a Formula One car designed in late 1977 by Colin Chapman, Geoff Aldridge, Martin Ogilvie, Tony Rudd and Peter Wright of Lotus. It is considered by many to be one of the most significant and respected racing car designs of all time....
ground effect
Ground effect in cars
Ground effect is term applied to a series of aerodynamic effects used in car design, which has been exploited to create downforce, particularly in racing cars. This has been the successor to the earlier dominant aerodynamic theory of streamlining...
cars and neither Hunt nor Mass's replacement Patrick Tambay
Patrick Tambay
Patrick Daniel Tambay is a French former racing driver. He competed in 123 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, winning twice, securing 5 pole positions and scoring a total of 103 Championship points...
were able to seriously challenge with the non ground effect M26. Hunt was dropped at the end of 1978 in favour of Lotus's Ronnie Peterson
Ronnie Peterson
Bengt Ronnie Peterson was a Swedish racing driver. He was a two-time runner-up in the FIA Formula One World Drivers' Championship.Peterson began his motor racing career in kart racing, traditionally the discipline where the majority of race drivers begin their careers in open-wheel racing...
, but when Peterson was killed by a crash at the Italian Grand Prix
1978 Italian Grand Prix
The 1978 Italian Grand Prix was the 14th race of the 1978 Formula One season. It was held on 10 September 1978 at Monza. It was marred by the death of Ronnie Peterson following an accident at the start of the race....
, John Watson
John Watson (racing driver)
John Marshall "Wattie" Watson MBE is a British former racing driver from Northern Ireland. He competed in Formula One, winning five Grands Prix and also in the World Sportscar Championship...
was signed instead. saw no improvement; Coppuck's M28
McLaren M28
The McLaren M28 is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren in the 1979 Formula One World Championship. Powered by a conventional Ford Cosworth 3-litre engine, its ground effect design proved not particularly effective, and McLaren were never in the running for the championship with the car...
design was described by Mayer as "ghastly, a disaster" and "quite diabolical" and the M29
McLaren M29
The McLaren M29 is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren during part of both the 1979 Formula One World Championship and the 1980 Formula One World Championship. The F version was built in 1979, but ran during three races of the 1981 Formula One World Championship. It was driven by...
did little to change the situation. Tambay scored no points and Watson only 15 to place the team eighth at the end of the year.
1980s
Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix...
took over from Tambay but he and Watson rarely scored points. Under increasing pressure since the previous year from principal sponsor Philip Morris
Altria Group
Altria Group, Inc. is based in Henrico County, Virginia, and is the parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc., U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corporation, and Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. It is one of the world's largest tobacco corporations...
and their executive John Hogan, Mayer was coerced into merging McLaren with Ron Dennis
Ron Dennis
Ronald "Ron" Dennis CBE is the executive chairman of McLaren Automotive and McLaren Group, and is also a significant shareholder in both companies...
's Project Four Formula Two team, also sponsored by Philip Morris. Dennis had designer John Barnard
John Barnard
John Barnard is a race car designer and is currently working alongside Terence Woodgate designing high specification carbon fibre furniture....
who, inspired by the carbon-fibre rear wings of the BMW M1
BMW M1
The BMW M1 is a sports car that was produced by German automaker BMW from 1978 to 1981.In the late 1970s, Italian manufacturer Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to build a production racing car in sufficient quantity for homologation. The result was sold to the public, from 1978 to...
race cars that Project Four was preparing, had ideas for an innovative Formula One chassis constructed from carbon-fibre instead of conventional aluminium alloy
Aluminium alloy
Aluminium alloys are alloys in which aluminium is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon and zinc. There are two principal classifications, namely casting alloys and wrought alloys, both of which are further subdivided into the categories...
. On their own they lacked the money to build it, but with investment that came with the merger it became the McLaren MP4
McLaren MP4/1
The McLaren MP4/1 was a Formula One racing car produced by the McLaren team. It was used during the 1981, 1982 and 1983 seasons...
(later called MP4/1) of , driven by Watson and Andrea de Cesaris
Andrea de Cesaris
Andrea de Cesaris is an Italian former race car driver. He started 208 races but never won; his is the longest career without a race victory. A string of accidents early in his career earned him the nickname 'Andrea de Crasheris',...
. In the MP4, Watson won the British Grand Prix
1981 British Grand Prix
The 1981 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on July 18, 1981. John Watson won his first race for five years, and McLaren's first since James Hunt's victory at the 1977 United States Grand Prix...
and had three other podium finishes. Soon after the merger McLaren moved from Colnbrook to a new base in Woking and whilst Dennis and Mayer initially shared the managing directorship of the company, by 1982 Mayer had departed and his and Tyler Alexander's shareholdings had been bought by the new owners.
In the early 1980s, teams like Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...
, Ferrari and Brabham were using 1.5 litre turbocharged
Turbocharger
A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...
engines in favour of the 3.0 litre naturally aspirated engines that had been standard since 1966. Seeing the need for a turbo engine of their own, in Dennis convinced Williams backer Techniques d'Avant Garde
Techniques d'Avant Garde
TAG Group SA is a private holding company based in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. At the head is Mansour Ojjeh son of the founder of the TAG Group Akram Ojjeh, who was a wealthy Saudi entrepreneur...
(TAG) to fund Porsche
Porsche in motorsport
Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long distance races.Despite their early involvement in motorsports being limited to supplying relatively small engines to racing underdogs up until the late 1960s, by the mid-1950s Porsche had already tasted...
-built, TAG-branded turbo engines made to Barnard's specifications; TAG's founder Mansour Ojjeh
Mansour Ojjeh
Mansour Akram Ojjeh is a French Saudi Arabia-born entrepreneur who owns part of TAG, a Luxembourg-based holding company with interests worldwide. Ojjeh is the CEO of TAG which owns 21% of the McLaren Group, the most important asset of which is the McLaren Formula One team.-References:*...
would later become a McLaren shareholder. In the meantime, they continued with Cosworth engines as old rival Lauda came out of retirement to drive alongside Watson in that year's 1B development of the MP4. They each won two races, Watson notably from 17th place on the grid in Detroit, and McLaren were second in the constructors' title race. As part of a dispute with FISA
Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile
The Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile was the governing body for motor racing events. The organisation's origins date from 1922, when the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile delegated the organisation of automobile racing to the CSI , an autonomous committee that would later...
, the sport's governing body, they boycotted the San Marino Grand Prix
1982 San Marino Grand Prix
The 1982 San Marino Grand Prix was the fourth race of the 1982 Formula One World Championship. It was held on the weekend of April 23–25, 1982 at the Autodromo Dino Ferrari, Imola...
. was not so fruitful but Watson did win again in the United States, this time from 22nd on the grid at Long Beach
1983 United States Grand Prix West
The 1983 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One race held on March 27, 1983 at Long Beach, California.__FORCETOC__-Summary:After struggling greatly in qualifying, the McLaren team found their way on race day, as John Watson and Niki Lauda climbed from positions 22 and 23 on the grid to...
.
Having been fired by Renault, Prost was once again at McLaren for . Now using the TAG engines, the team dominated, scoring 12 wins and two-and-a-half times as many contructors' points as nearest rival Ferrari. In the drivers' championship, Lauda prevailed over Prost by half a point, the narrowest margin ever. The McLaren-TAGs were again strong in ; a third constructors' championship came their way whilst this time Prost won the drivers' championship. In , the Williams
WilliamsF1
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...
team were resurgent with their Honda engine and drivers Nigel Mansell
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series...
and Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan...
, whilst at McLaren, Lauda's replacement, 1982 champion Keke Rosberg
Keke Rosberg
Keijo Erik Rosberg , nicknamed "Keke", is a Finnish former racing driver and winner of the Formula One World Championship. He was the first Finnish driver to compete regularly in the series. Rosberg grew up in Oulu and Iisalmi, Finland...
couldn't gel with the car. Williams took the constructors' championship, but for Prost, wins in San Marino
1986 San Marino Grand Prix
The 1986 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Imola on 27 April 1986. The race was the third round of the year's World Championship...
, Monaco
1986 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1986 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on May 11, 1986.- Classification :- Notes :*Lap leaders: Alain Prost 71 , Ayrton Senna 7...
and Austria
1986 Austrian Grand Prix
The 1986 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Österreichring on 17 August 1986.- Classification :- Notes :* The Benettons of Berger and Fabi were so dominant in this race that they were 40 seconds ahead of third-placed Prost after 12 laps...
combined with the fact that the Williams drivers were taking points from each other meant that he retained a chance going into the last race, the Australian Grand Prix
1987 Australian Grand Prix
The 1987 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Adelaide on November 15, 1987.- Race :The third Australian Grand Prix to be held at Adelaide and the final round of the 1987 Formula One season proved to be another eventful race. Gerhard Berger started from his third pole position...
. There, a puncture for Mansell and a precautionary pit stop for Piquet gave Prost the race win and his second title, making him the first driver to win back-to-back championships since Jack Brabham
Jack Brabham
Sir John Arthur "Jack" Brabham, AO, OBE is an Australian former racing driver who was Formula One champion in , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name....
in and 1960. In Barnard departed for Ferrari to be replaced by Steve Nichols
Steve Nichols
Steve Nichols is an American engineer who is best known as a car designer for many Formula One teams from the mid-1980s until .-Profile:...
(who himself joined Ferrari in 1989). In the hands of Prost and Stefan Johansson
Stefan Johansson
Stefan Nils Edwin Johansson is a former Formula One driver from who drove for among others both Ferrari and McLaren during his Grand Prix career. Since leaving Formula One he has raced in a number of categories, including CART, various kinds of Sports car racing, and Grand Prix Masters...
though, Nichols's MP4/3
McLaren MP4/3
The McLaren MP4/3 is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren International during the 1987 Formula One World Championship. It was designed under the leadership of American engineer Steve Nichols, after John Barnard quit the team in August 1986...
and the TAG engine couldn't match the Williams-Honda.
For Honda switched their supply to McLaren and, encouraged by Prost, Dennis signed Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time...
to drive. Despite regulations reducing the boost pressure and fuel capacity (and therefore, power) of the turbo cars, Honda persisted with a turbocharged engine. In the MP4/4
McLaren MP4/4
The McLaren MP4/4 was a highly successful Formula 1 car that competed in the 1988 Formula One season. It was designed by Gordon Murray, who based the design on his lowline Brabham BT55 car of 1986, and American engineer Steve Nichols. It is one of the most dominant Formula One cars ever built,...
, Senna and Prost engaged in a season long battle, winning 15 of the 16 races (at the other race at Monza
1988 Italian Grand Prix
The 1988 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 11, 1988 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza. It was the twelfth race of the 1988 Formula One season...
, Senna had been leading comfortably but collided with back-marker Jean-Louis Schlesser
Jean-Louis Schlesser
Jean-Louis Schlesser is a French racing driver with experience in circuit racing and cross-country rallying. He is known for his successful wins of many different competitions...
). At the Portuguese Grand Prix
1988 Portuguese Grand Prix
The 1988 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 25, 1988 at the Autódromo do Estoril, Estoril. It was the thirteenth race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Race summary:...
, their relationship soured when Senna squeezed Prost against the pit wall; Prost won but afterwards said, "It was dangerous. If he wants the world championship that badly he can have it." Prost scored more points that year, but due to the fact that only the best 11 results counted, it was Senna who took the title at the penultimate race in Japan
1988 Japanese Grand Prix
The 1988 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Suzuka Circuit, Japan, on October 30, 1988. It was the fifteenth and penultimate race of the 1988 Formula One season.-Race summary:...
.
The next year, with turbos banned Honda supplied a new 3.5 L naturally aspirated V10 engine
V10 engine
A V10 engine is a V engine with 10 cylinders in two banks of five with a distinct exhaust note.- Mechanics :The V10 is essentially the result of mating two even-firing straight-5 engines together. The straight-5 engine shows first and second order rocking motion...
and McLaren again won both titles with the MP4/5
McLaren MP4/5
The McLaren MP4/5 and its derived sister model the McLaren MP4/5B were Formula One racing cars designed by Neil Oatley under the supervision of Steve Nichols. The MP4/5 was loosely based on its predecessor, the all conquering McLaren MP4/4...
. Their drivers' relationship continued to deteriorate though, especially when, at the San Marino Grand Prix
1989 San Marino Grand Prix
The 1989 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Imola on April 23, 1989.- Race summary :The only change to the entry list for the San Marino Grand Prix was the arrival of Gabriele Tarquini in the second car of the small AGS team, which had only run one car in Brazil after Philippe...
Prost felt that Senna had reneged on an agreement not to pass each other at the first corner. Believing that Honda and Dennis were favouring Senna, Prost announced mid-season that he would leave to drive at Ferrari the following year. For the second year in succession, the drivers' championship was decided at the Japanese Grand Prix
1989 Japanese Grand Prix
The 1989 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Suzuka Circuit, Japan, on October 22, 1989. It formed the 15th and penultimate round of the 1989 Formula One World Championship. This race would become one of the most notorious in F1 history, as the culmination of Alain Prost and...
, this time in Prost's favour after he and Senna collided (Senna initially recovered and won the race but was later disqualified).
1990s
Gerhard Berger
Gerhard Berger, is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver, who previously owned 50% of the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One team until he sold his share back to energy drink owner Dietrich Mateschitz in November 2008....
but, like the two seasons before, the drivers' championship was led by Prost and Senna and settled at the penultimate race in Japan
1990 Japanese Grand Prix
The 1990 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 21 October 1990 at Suzuka. It was the fifteenth and penultimate round of the 1990 Formula One season. It was the 17th Japanese Grand Prix and the fourth to be held at Suzuka...
. Here, Senna collided with Prost at the first corner forcing both to retire, but this time Senna escaped punishment and took the title; McLaren also won the constructors' championship. was another McLaren and Senna year with the ascendent Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...
-powered Williams team their closest challengers. By Williams, with their advanced FW14B car, had overtaken McLaren breaking their four year run as champions, despite the latter winning four races.
Honda withdrew from the sport at end of the year and a deal to secure Renault engines fell through so McLaren switched to customer Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
engines for the season. Senna—who initially agreed only to a race-by-race contract before later signing for the whole year—won five races, including a record-breaking sixth at Monaco
1993 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1993 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on May 23, 1993. It was the sixth round of the 1993 Formula One season.- Summary :...
and at the European Grand Prix
1993 European Grand Prix
The 1993 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Donington Park on April 11, 1993. It was the third round of the 1993 Formula One season. The race was notable for the dominance of Ayrton Senna.-Report:...
where he went from fifth to first on opening lap. His team-mate 1991 IndyCar
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
champion Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
fared much worse however; he scored only seven points and was replaced by test driver Mika Häkkinen
Mika Häkkinen
Mika Pauli Häkkinen is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion...
for the final three rounds. Williams ultimately won both titles and Senna—who had flirted with moving there for 1993—signed with them for the 1994 season
1994 Formula One season
The 1994 Formula One season was the 45th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1994 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on March 27, 1994, and ended on November 13 after sixteen races. The season is remembered as one of the most tragic and controversial seasons in...
. During the 1993 season McLaren took part in a seven part BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
documentary called A Season With McLaren
A Season With McLaren
The Team: A Season With McLaren is a 7 part TV series produced by John Gau Productions for the BBC during the 1993 Formula One season and first transmitted on BBC Two during November and December 1993...
.
For , McLaren tested a Lamborghini
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like...
V12 engine as part of a prospective deal with then Lamborghini owner Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
before eventually deciding to use Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
engines. Thus powered, the MP4/9
McLaren MP4/9
The McLaren MP4/9 was a Formula One car designed by Neil Oatley for the 1994 Formula One season and was run by the Marlboro McLaren Team. Number 7 car was driven by Mika Häkkinen and the number 8 car by Martin Brundle....
was driven by Häkkinen and Martin Brundle
Martin Brundle
Martin John Brundle is a British racing driver from England, known as a Formula One driver and as an F1 commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011 and Sky Sports from 2012....
but no wins resulted and Peugeot was dropped after a single year in favour of a Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
-branded, Ilmor
Ilmor
Ilmor, founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983, is a British independent high-performance autosport engineering company. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Michigan, the company supplies engines and consultancy to the...
-designed engine. But the alliance with Mercedes started slowly: 's MP4/10
McLaren MP4/10
The McLaren MP4/10 was the car with which the McLaren team competed in the Formula One season. It was driven mainly by Mark Blundell, who started the year without a drive, and Mika Häkkinen, who was in his second full season with the team. The car was also driven by champion Nigel Mansell and...
car was not a front-runner and Brundle's replacement, former champion Nigel Mansell was unable to fit into the car at first and departed after just two races with Mark Blundell
Mark Blundell
Mark Blundell is a Formula One, sports car, and CART racing driver. He was a Formula One presenter for the British broadcaster ITV until the end of the 2008 season when the TV broadcasting rights switched to the BBC....
taking his place.
While Williams dominated in , McLaren, now with David Coulthard
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons...
alongside Häkkinen, went a third successive season without a win. But then Coulthard broke this run by winning 's season-opening Australian Grand Prix
1997 Australian Grand Prix
The 1997 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 9 March 1997 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Albert Park, Melbourne. It was the first race of the 1997 Formula One season. It was the second Grand Prix to be hosted in Melbourne.-Pre-race:...
and he and Häkkinen won another race each before the end of the year, whilst in August, highly rated designer Adrian Newey
Adrian Newey
Adrian Newey is a notable Formula One engineer and widely regarded one of the great engineers in the sport's history. He is the only designer to have won Constructors Championships with three different Formula One teams...
joined from Williams. Despite the car's improved pace, unreliability proved costly throughout the season, with retirements at Britain and Luxembourg occurring whilst leading the race.
With Newey able to take advantage of new technical regulations for and Williams losing their works Renault engines, McLaren were once again able to challenge for the championship; F1 Racing
F1 Racing
F1 Racing is a monthly magazine focused on Formula One racing which launched in March, 1996.The previous Editor, Matt Bishop, also used to write a fortnightly column for the website of the weekly magazine Autosport...
magazine stated that the only way to increase their championship hopes was to hire Ferrari's double champion Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...
. Häkkinen and Coulthard won five of the first six races, despite the team's system that allowed the rear brakes to be operated individually in order to reduce understeer
Understeer
Understeer and oversteer are vehicle dynamics terms used to describe the sensitivity of a vehicle to steering. Simply put, oversteer is what occurs when a car turns by more than the amount commanded by the driver...
being banned after a protest by Ferrari at the second race in Brazil
1998 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 1998 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Interlagos on March 29, 1998. Mika Häkkinen, won his third straight race, with McLaren, also securing their third straight one two finish.-Race Summary:...
. It was Schumacher and Ferrari who provided the greatest competition, the former levelled on points with Häkkinen with two races to go, but wins for Häkkinen at the Luxembourg
1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix
The 1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Nürburgring on September 27, 1998.-Report:With two races remaining of the season, McLaren's Mika Häkkinen and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher were battling for the drivers title; they were level on 80 points with Häkkinen ahead on...
and Japanese
1998 Japanese Grand Prix
The 1998 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Suzuka on November 1, 1998.- Classification :-Standings after Grand Prix:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings...
Grands Prix gave both him the drivers' championship and McLaren the constructors' championship. The following season, Häkkinen won his second drivers' championship but due to a combination of driver errors and mechanical failures, the team lost the constructors' title to Ferrari.
2000s and 2010s
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered...
, then in Coulthard took their solitary win at Monaco
2002 Monaco Grand Prix
The 2002 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 26, 2002 at the Circuit de Monaco.__FORCETOC__-Qualifying:-Race:- Notes :*This was the first of four races to be broadcast in the U.S...
while Ferrari repeated McLaren's 1988 feat of 15 wins in a season.
started very promisingly, with one win each for Coulthard and Räikkönen at the first two Grands Prix. However, they were hampered when the MP4-18
McLaren MP4-18
The McLaren MP4-18 was destined to be McLaren's racing car during the 2003 Formula One season. Following a disappointing season in 2002, which was mostly dominated by Ferrari's F2002, Mclaren team principal Ron Dennis decided a radical approach was needed to get back to the front...
car designed for that year suffered crash test and reliability problems, forcing them to use a 'D' development of the year-old MP4-17
McLaren MP4-17
The McLaren MP4-17 was the car with which the McLaren team competed in the and Formula One seasons. It was driven by David Coulthard and Kimi Räikkönen in both seasons....
. Despite this, Räikkönen scored points consistently and challenged for the championship up to the final race, eventually losing by two points. The team began 2004
2004 Formula One season
The 2004 Formula One season was the 55th FIA Formula One World Championship season, running from March 7 to October 24, 2004. The season was dominated by Michael Schumacher and Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro...
with the MP4-19
McLaren MP4-19
The McLaren MP4-19 is a Formula One racing car that was built by McLaren. It was designed by Adrian Newey, and introduced at the beginning of the 2004 Formula One season. It was described as a "debugged version of the McLaren MP4-18." It was not a successful car, and the team suffered various...
, which technical director Adrian Newey described as "a debugged version of [the MP4-18]." It was not a success though, and was replaced mid-season by the MP4-19B. With this, Räikkönen scored his and the team's only win of the year at the Belgian Grand Prix
2004 Belgian Grand Prix
The 2004 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on August 29, 2004 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was at this race that Michael Schumacher won his seventh world championship despite Kimi Räikkönen taking his and McLaren's only race win of the season from tenth place on the grid...
, as McLaren finished fifth in the constructors' championship, their worst ranking since 1983.
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...
in to be replaced by former CART champion Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán is a Colombian race car driver known internationally for participating and winning in Formula One and CART race competitions. He has enjoyed great success. Currently, he competes in NASCAR, driving the #42 Target Chevrolet Impala for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the Sprint...
for what was McLaren's most successful season in several years as he and Räikkönen won ten races. However, the unreliability of the MP4-20
McLaren MP4-20
The McLaren MP4-20 is a Formula One racing car that was built by McLaren. It was designed by Adrian Newey and Mike Coughlan, and introduced at the beginning of the 2005 Formula One season.- New design :...
cost a number of race victories when Räikkönen had been leading or in contention to win allowing Renault and their driver Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....
to capitalise and win both titles. In the team failed to build on the previous year's good form as the superior reliability and speed of the Ferraris and Renaults prevented the team from gaining any victories for the first time in a decade. Montoya parted company acrimoniously with the team to race in NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
after the United States Grand Prix
2006 United States Grand Prix
The 2006 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana, USA on July 2, 2006 . The race, which was the tenth round of the 2006 Formula One season, was won by Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher....
where he crashed into Räikkönen at the start; test driver Pedro de la Rosa
Pedro de la Rosa
Pedro Martínez de la Rosa is a Formula One driver who has participated in 87 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren and Sauber teams, debuting on 7 March 1999, becoming one of very few drivers to score a point at his first race...
deputised for the remainder of the season. The team also lost Räikkönen to Ferrari at the end of the year.
Steve Matchett
Steve Matchett
Steve Matchett is currently a commentator for American TV network Speed Channel on its various Formula One programs...
argued that the poor reliability of McLaren in 2006 and recent previous years was due to a lack of team continuity and stability. His cited examples of instability are logistical challenges related to the move to the McLaren Technology Centre
McLaren Technology Centre
The McLaren Technology Centre is the headquarters of the McLaren Group, located on a 500,000 m² site in Woking, Surrey, England. It is a large, roughly semi-circular, glass-walled building, designed by the architect Norman Foster and his company, Foster and Partners. The building was short-listed...
, Adrian Newey's aborted move to Jaguar
Jaguar Racing
Jaguar Racing was a Formula One team that competed in the FIA Formula One World Championship from 2000 to 2004. It was formed from the purchase by Ford of Jackie Stewart's Stewart Grand Prix Formula One team in June 1999. Ford renamed the team Jaguar Racing as part of its global marketing...
and later move to Red Bull, the subsequent move of Newey's deputy to Red Bull and personnel changes at Ilmor.
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...
. The pair scored four wins each and led the drivers' championship for much of the year, but tensions arose within the team, some commentators claiming that Alonso was unable to cope with Hamilton's competitiveness. At the Hungarian Grand Prix
2007 Hungarian Grand Prix
The 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix was the eleventh race of the 2007 Formula One season, held between 3 to 5 August at the Hungaroring racing track in Budapest...
Alonso was judged to have deliberately impeded his team-mate during qualifying and so the team were not allowed to score constructors' points at the event. Subsequently the McLaren team were investigated by the FIA for being in possession of proprietary detailed technical blueprints of Ferrari's car – the so-called "Spygate" controversy
2007 Formula One espionage controversy
The 2007 Formula One espionage controversy, also known as "Spygate," or "Stepneygate" involves allegations that the McLaren Formula One team was passed confidential technical information from the Ferrari team, and that the Renault F1 team was passed confidential technical information from the...
. At the first hearing McLaren management consistently denied all knowledge, blaming a single "rogue engineer". However, in the final hearing McLaren were found guilty and the team were excluded from the constructors' championship and fined $100M. The drivers were allowed to continue without penalty, and whilst Hamilton led the drivers' championship heading into the final race in Brazil
2007 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix was the seventeenth and last race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held from 19 to October 21 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo. The Championship was decided in the race, which was won by Kimi Räikkönen...
, it was Räikkönen in the Ferrari who won the race and the drivers' championship, a single point ahead of both McLaren drivers. In November, Alonso and McLaren agreed to terminate their contract by mutual consent, Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus....
filling the vacant seat alongside Hamilton.
Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.-Early years:...
and Räikkönen; Hamilton won five times and despite also crossing the finish line first at the Belgian Grand Prix
2008 Belgian Grand Prix
The 2008 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 7, 2008, at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps near the town of Spa, Belgium. It was the 13th race of the 2008 Formula One season...
he was deemed to have gained an illegal advantage by cutting a chicane during an overtake and was controversially demoted to third. Going into the final race in Brazil
2008 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on November 2, 2008, at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Interlagos, in São Paulo, Brazil. It was the 18th and final race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 71 laps, was won by Ferrari driver Felipe Massa...
Hamilton had a seven point lead over Massa. Massa won there but Hamilton dramatically clinched his first drivers' championship by moving into the necessary fifth position at the final corner of the final lap of the race. Despite winning his first Grand Prix in Hungary
2008 Hungarian Grand Prix
The 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on August 3, 2008, at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, near Budapest, Hungary. It was the 11th race of the 2008 Formula One season. Contested over 70 laps, the race was won by Heikki Kovalainen for the McLaren team, from a second...
, Kovalainen finished the season only seventh in the overall standings, allowing Ferrari to take the constructors' title.
Before the start of the 2009 season
2009 Formula One season
The 2009 Formula One season was the 60th FIA Formula One World Championship season. The season took place over 17 rounds, and started with the on 29 March 2009. It ended on 1 November 2009 with the inaugural ....
, Dennis retired as team principal, handing responsibility to Martin Whitmarsh
Martin Whitmarsh
Martin Whitmarsh is the CEO of McLaren Racing, a subsidiary company of the McLaren Group and Chief Operating Officer of that group, as well as Team Principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, following Ron Dennis' retirement on 1 March 2009...
. But the year started badly: the MP4-24
McLaren MP4-24
The McLaren MP4-24 was McLaren-Mercedes' Formula One car for the 2009 Formula One season. It was revealed at McLaren's headquarters in Woking, United Kingdom on January 16, 2009....
car was off the pace and the team was given a three race suspended ban for misleading stewards at the Australian
2009 Australian Grand Prix
The 2009 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 March 2009 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by Jenson Button for the Brawn GP team after...
and Malaysian
2009 Malaysian Grand Prix
The 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on April 5, 2009 at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia. It was the second race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race was due to be contested over 56 laps, but due to torrential rain, the race was stopped after...
Grands Prix. Despite these early problems, a late revival saw Hamilton win at the Hungarian
2009 Hungarian Grand Prix
The 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 26, 2009 at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, north of Budapest, Hungary. It was the tenth race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race, contested over 70 laps, was won by world champion Lewis Hamilton for McLaren-Mercedes,...
and Singapore
2009 Singapore Grand Prix
The 2009 Singapore Grand Prix was the fourteenth race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was the second Singapore Grand Prix to be part of a Formula One Championship and the tenth Singapore Grand Prix overall. It was also the second Formula One race to be held at night...
Grands Prix. McLaren signed that year's champion, Jenson Button
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...
, to replace Kovalainen alongside Hamilton in . Button won twice (in Australia
2010 Australian Grand Prix
The 2010 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 28 March 2010 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the second race of the 2010 Formula One season. The race was won by McLaren driver Jenson Button, the first back-to-back Australian Grand Prix winner...
and China
2010 Chinese Grand Prix
The 2010 Chinese Grand Prix was the fourth round in the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Shanghai, China on April 18, 2010.The race was won by Jenson Button ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton....
) and Hamilton three times (in Turkey
2010 Turkish Grand Prix
The 2010 Turkish Grand Prix was the seventh round in the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Istanbul on 30 May 2010. The race was most notable for the collision between both Red Bull Racing drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, which resulted in Vettel's retirement and Webber's loss of...
, Canada
2010 Canadian Grand Prix
The 2010 Canadian Grand Prix was the eighth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Montreal, Canada at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 13, 2010. This was the first Grand Prix to be held on the North American continent since the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix...
and Belgium
2010 Belgian Grand Prix
The 2010 Belgian Grand Prix was the 66th Belgian Grand Prix and the thirteenth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Spa, Belgium on August 29, 2010. Williams driver Rubens Barrichello celebrated his 300th Grand Prix...
), but they and McLaren failed to win their respective championships, that year's MP4-25
McLaren MP4-25
The McLaren MP4-25 was a Formula One motor racing car designed and raced by McLaren in the season. The car, which was driven by World Champion Jenson Button and World Champion Lewis Hamilton, was officially unveiled at title sponsor Vodafone's headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire, United Kingdom...
largely out-paced by Red Bull's RB6
Red Bull RB6
The Red Bull RB6 is a Formula One motor racing car designed by Red Bull Racing for the campaign. It was driven by World Champion Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber and was launched on February 10 at Jerez....
.
Hamilton and Button remained with the team into , with Hamilton taking the team's first victory of the season in China
2011 Chinese Grand Prix
The 2011 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 17 April 2011 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It was the third round of the 2011 Formula One season...
, after he had a better race strategy than championship leader Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and ....
. Button took a victory in Canada
2011 Canadian Grand Prix
The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix, formally the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2011, was the seventh round of the 2011 Formula One season and was held on 12 June 2011 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve...
, after Vettel went wide on the last lap allowing Button to pass for victory. As of the 16th race, McLaren is the only constructor besides Red Bull to have won multiple races in 2011. Hamilton won again in Germany
2011 German Grand Prix
The 2011 German Grand Prix, formally the Formula 1 Großer Preis Santander von Deutschland 2011, was a Formula One motor race that was held on 24 July 2011, at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Germany. It was the tenth round of the 2011 Formula One season. The race, contested over 60 laps, was won...
, making him the only other driver at that point in the season, besides current leader Vettel, to win more than one race. Button then won the Hungarian Grand Prix on 31 July, bringing McLaren their 4th race win of the 2011 season and Button his 2nd, equal with Lewis Hamilton. Button later added a third victory at the , as did Hamilton, at the .
Can-Am
Chris Amon
Christopher Arthur Amon MBE is a former motor racing driver. He was active in Formula One - racing in the 1960s and 1970s - and is widely regarded to be one of the best F1 drivers never to win a championship Grand Prix...
raced in the series' inaugural, 1966 season
1966 Can-Am season
The 1966 Canadian-American Challenge Cup season was the inaugural season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It was for FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began September 11, 1966 and ended November 13, 1966 after six rounds.-Schedule:...
. With it, they led two races but scored no wins. The following year Robin Herd purpose-designed the Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
V8 powered M6A
McLaren M6A
The McLaren M6A was a race car developed by driver Bruce McLaren and his Bruce McLaren Motor Racing team for their entry in 1967 Can-Am season. As a replacement for the team's M1Bs from 1966, the Chevrolet-powered M6A's improved design earned Bruce McLaren and his team their first of multiple...
, delays with the Formula One programme allowing the team to spend extra resources on developing the Can-Am car which was the first to be painted in McLaren orange. With Denny Hulme now partnering Bruce, they won five out of six races and Bruce won the championship, setting the pattern for the next four years. In 1968
1968 Can-Am season
The 1968 Canadian-American Challenge Cup season was the third season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began September 1, 1968 and ended November 10, 1968 after six rounds.-Schedule:...
they used a new car, the M8, to win four races—non-works McLarens took the other two—but this time Hulme was victorious overall. 1969
1969 Can-Am season
The 1969 Canadian-American Challenge Cup season was the fourth season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began June 1, 1969 and ended November 9, 1969 after eleven rounds....
saw McLaren domination become total as they won all eleven races with the M8B; Hulme won five, Bruce won six and the driver's championship. McLaren's success in Can-Am brought with it financial rewards, both prize money and money from selling cars to other teams, that helped to support the team and fund the nascent and relatively poor paying Formula One programme.
When Bruce was killed testing the 1970 season
1970 Can-Am season
The 1970 Canadian-American Challenge Cup season was the fifth season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began June 14, 1970 and ended November 1, 1970 after ten rounds....
's M8D, he was at first replaced by Dan Gurney
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager...
, then later by Peter Gethin
Peter Gethin
Peter Kenneth Gethin is a former racing driver.He participated in 31 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 21 June 1970. He won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix in the fastest average speed in Formula One history , but this was his only podium finish...
. They won two and one races respectively while Hulme won six on the way to the championship. In 1971
1971 Can-Am season
The 1971 Canadian-American Challenge Cup season was the sixth season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began June 13, 1971 and ended October 31, 1971 after ten rounds.-Schedule:...
the team saw off the challenge of 1969 world champion Jackie Stewart
Jackie Stewart
Sir John Young Stewart, OBE , better known as Jackie Stewart, and nicknamed The Flying Scotsman, is a Scottish former racing driver and team owner. He competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships. He also competed in Can-Am...
in the Lola T260, winning eight races, with Peter Revson taking the title. Hulme also won three Can-Am races in 1972
1972 Can-Am season
The 1972 Canadian-American Challenge Cup season was the seventh season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events...
but the McLaren M20
McLaren M20
The McLaren M20 was a sports prototype developed by McLaren for the 1972 season of the Canadian-American Challenge Cup. It served as a replacement for the team's M8Fs, but it later became the final Can-Am design created by McLaren before the team left the series after failing to secure the 1972...
was defeated by the Porsche 917/10
Porsche 917
The Porsche 917 is a racecar that gave Porsche its first overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. Powered by the Type 912 flat-12 engine of 4.5, 4.9, or 5 litres, the 917/30 variant was capable of a 0- time of 2.3 seconds, 0– in 5.3 seconds, and a top speed of over .There are 6...
s of Mark Donohue
Mark Donohue
Mark Neary Donohue, Jr. , nicknamed "Captain Nice", was an American racecar driver known for his ability to set up his own race car as well as driving it to victories. Donohue is probably best known as the driver of the 1500+ bhp “Can-Am Killer” Porsche 917-30 and as the winner of the 1972...
and George Follmer
George Follmer
George Follmer is a retired American race car driver, and one of the most successful road racers of the 1970s. He was born in Phoenix, Arizona....
. Faced by the greater resources of Porsche, McLaren decided to abandon Can-Am at the end of 1972 and focus solely on open-wheel racing
Open wheel car
Open-wheel car, formula car, or often single-seater car in British English, describes cars with the wheels outside the car's main body and, in most cases, one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or fenders...
. When the original Can-Am series ceased at the end of 1974
1974 Can-Am season
The 1974 Canadian-American Challenge Cup season was the ninth and final season of the original Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running half hour Sprint races followed by hour long Cup races...
, McLaren were by far the most successful constructor with 43 wins.
Indianapolis 500
McLaren first contested the United States Auto Club's (USAC) Indianapolis 500 race in 19701970 Indianapolis 500
The 1970 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Saturday, May 30, 1970.Following in the footsteps of his brother, Bobby, Al Unser dominates the 500, leading 190 laps, matching Jim Clark's total in 1965, and the most since 1953, when Bill Vukovich led all but five laps in the race...
, encouraged by their tyre supplier Goodyear
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
who wanted to break competitor Firestone
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company...
's stranglehold on the event. With the M15 car, Bruce, Chris Amon and Denny Hulme entered, but after Amon withdrew and Hulme was severely burned on the hands in an incident in practice, Peter Revson and Carl Williams
Carl Williams (driver)
Carl Williams , was an American racecar driver.Born in Grandview, Missouri, Williams was killed in a motorcycle accident in Kansas City. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1965-1972 seasons, with 63 career starts, including the Indianapolis 500 in 1966-1970 and 1972...
took their places in the race to retire and finish seventh respectively. The team also contested some of the more prestigious races in the USAC championship that year, as they would do in subsequent years. For 1971 they had a new car, the M16, which driver Mark Donohue said "...obsoleted every other car on track..." At that year's Indianapolis 500, Revson qualified on pole and finished second, whilst in 1972
1972 Indianapolis 500
The 1972 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 27, 1972.Gary Bettenhausen leads 138 laps until his engine blows on lap 176. Jerry Grant gets the lead but pits for new tires on lap 188 in team mate Bobby Unser’s pit. Bettenhausen’s Penske team mate Mark Donohue...
, Donohue won in privateer
Privateer (motorsport)
In motor sport, a privateer is usually an entrant into a racing event that is not directly supported by an automobile manufacturer. Privateers teams are often found competing in rally and circuit racing events, and often include competitors who build and maintain their own vehicles...
Team Penske's M16B. The 1973
1973 Indianapolis 500
The 57th Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Wednesday, May 30, 1973. The race was held over three days due to rain and 2 major accidents. After 133 laps , rain halted the race, and Gordon Johncock was declared the winner....
event saw Johnny Rutherford
Johnny Rutherford
For the Major League Baseball pitcher, see Johnny Rutherford . For other people with a similar name, see John RutherfordJohn Sherman Rutherford III , better known as Johnny Rutherford, and also known as "Lone Star JR" is a former U.S...
join the team; he qualifed on pole but finished ninth, Revson crashed out. McLaren won their first Indianapolis 500 in 1974
1974 Indianapolis 500
The 58th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 26, 1974. Johnny Rutherford, in his eleventh attempt, won the race from the 25th starting position, the farthest back since Fred Frame in 1932....
with Rutherford. The McLaren and Rutherford combination was second in 1975
1975 Indianapolis 500
The 1975 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 25, 1975.Wally Dallenbach Sr. had a twenty-second lead when he retired on lap 162 with a burned piston. Johnny Rutherford lost the inherited lead to Bobby Unser when he pitted. On lap 171 the yellow came out for rain and the two...
and won again in 1976
1976 Indianapolis 500
The 1976 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 30, 1976.Rain stopped the race on lap 102. Two hours later, the race was about to be restarted, but the rain fell again. Officials called the race at that point and Johnny Rutherford was declared the winner...
. Developments of the M16 had been used throughout this period until the new M24 car was introduced in 1977. The team didn't reproduce their recent success at Indianapolis in 1977
1977 Indianapolis 500
The 1977 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 29, 1977.Gordon Johncock led 129 laps and had a 16 second lead on A.J. Foyt one lap after final pit stops when his crankshaft broke. Foyt became the first driver to win four times. Tom Sneva broke the barrier in qualifying, and...
, 1978
1978 Indianapolis 500
The 1978 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 28, 1978. For the first time, Mary Fendrich Hulman, widow of Tony Hulman, delivered the command for drivers to start engines....
or 1979
1979 Indianapolis 500
The 1979 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 27, 1979.The month was filled with controversy on and off the track. A court injunction was issued after USAC denied entries by the start-up CART series. During time trials, several cars were disqualified due to illegal wastegate...
, and although they continued to win other USAC races, by the end of 1979 they decided to end their involvement.
Customer cars
Besides the cars raced by the works team, a variety of McLaren racing cars have also been used by customer teams. In their formative years, McLaren built Formula Two, hillclimbingHillclimbing
Hillclimbing is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course....
, Formula 5000
Formula 5000
Formula 5000 was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars that no longer fit into any particular formula...
and sports racing cars that were sold to customers. Lacking the capacity to build the desired numbers, Trojan
Trojan (Racing team)
Trojan was an automobile manufacturer and a Formula One constructor from the United Kingdom. The complete history can be found at The car producer Trojan Limited was founded by Leslie Hounsfield in 1914 in Purley Way, Croydon, South London and produced cars and especially delivery vans until...
was subcontracted
Subcontractor
A subcontractor is an individual or in many cases a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract....
to construct some of them. In Can-Am, Trojan built customer versions of the M6 and M8 cars and ex-works cars were sold to privateers when new models arrived; half of the field were McLarens at some races. Author Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes (journalist)
Mark P. Hughes is the Grand Prix editor for Autosport magazine, a position he has held since 2003. He is also an F1 correspondent for The Sunday Times and technical editor for the renowned motor racing annual, Autocourse...
says that "over 220" McLarens were built by Trojan. In USAC competition and Formula One too, many teams used McLarens during the late 1960s and 1970s. In the mid 1990s, McLaren Racing's sister company, McLaren Cars (now McLaren Automotive) built a racing version of their F1
McLaren F1
The McLaren F1 is a supercar designed and manufactured by McLaren Automotive. Originally a concept conceived by Gordon Murray, he convinced Ron Dennis to back the project and engaged Peter Stevens to design the exterior of the car...
road car, the F1 GTR
McLaren F1 GTR
The McLaren F1 GTR was a racing variant of the McLaren F1 sports car first produced in 1995 for grand touring style racing, such as the BPR Global GT Series, FIA GT Championship, JGTC, and British GT Championship. It is most famous for its overall victory at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans where it...
which won the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans
1995 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 63rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 17 and 18 1995.-Race:The 1995 race was won by a McLaren F1 GTR entered in the GT1 category. The car was already well known for dominating the BPR Global GT Series with customer teams, but the car that won was...
and the 1995 and 1996 BPR Global GT Series
BPR Global GT Series
The BPR Global GT Series was a grand tourer-based sports car racing series which ran from 1994 to 1996 before becoming the FIA GT Championship in 1997...
. More recently, a GT3 version of their new MP4-12C
McLaren MP4-12C
The McLaren MP4-12C is a sports car designed and manufactured by McLaren Automotive. It is the first production car wholly designed and built by McLaren since the McLaren F1. The car's final design was unveiled on 8 September 2009, and it is set to be launched in 2011...
road car was announced, and will be entered by CRS Racing in the FIA GT3 European Championship
FIA GT3 European Championship
The FIA GT3 European Championship is a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . It is a championship derived from the international FIA GT1 World Championship, but meant to provide competition for more...
.
Characteristics
Brixworth
Brixworth is a village and civil parish in the Daventry district of Northamptonshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a parish population of 5,162. The village is particularly notable for All Saints' Church, Brixworth, its historic Anglo-Saxon church....
, Northamptonshire.
Ownership and management
Former team principal Ron Dennis is chairman of the Group—a role he resigned from in 2009 before retaking it a year later—and current principal Martin Whitmarsh is chief executive officer. Dennis co-owns the Group along with Techniques d'Avant Garde and Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, a company owned by Bahrain, which has been a minority shareholder since 2007 In 2000 Mercedes's parent company Daimler (then DaimlerChrysler) bought a 40% share of McLaren which they maintained until 2009 when they bought out the championship winning BrawnBrawn GP
Brawn GP Formula One Team, the trading name of Brawn GP Limited, was a Formula One motor racing team and constructor, created by a management buyout of Honda Racing F1 Team. It only competed in the 2009 Formula One World Championship, with drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The team...
team and began to sell back their McLaren stake. By March 2010 Daimler retained 11% of McLaren although they will continue as a sponsor and engine supplier to the team until 2015.
Politics
McLaren has had an uneasy relationship with the Formula One's governing body, the FIA, and its predecessor FISAFédération Internationale du Sport Automobile
The Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile was the governing body for motor racing events. The organisation's origins date from 1922, when the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile delegated the organisation of automobile racing to the CSI , an autonomous committee that would later...
, as well as with the commercial rights holder of the sport. In the early 1980s McLaren were involved, along with the other teams of the Formula One Constructors Association
Formula One Constructors Association
The Formula One Constructors' Association is an organization of the chassis builders who design and build the cars that race in the FIA Formula One World Championship...
, in a dispute over control of the sport with FISA and the teams of car manufactuers Alfa Romeo, Renault and Ferrari. This was known as the FISA-FOCA war
FISA-FOCA war
The FISA–FOCA war was a political battle contested throughout the early 1980s by the two representative organizations in Formula One motor racing, the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile and the Formula One Constructors Association...
and saw a breakaway series threatened, FISA refusing to sancation one race and another race boycotted by FOCA. It was eventually resolved by a revenue sharing deal called the Concorde Agreement
Concorde Agreement
The Concorde Agreement is a contract between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , the Formula One teams and the Formula One Administration which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in races and take their share of the television revenues and prize money...
. Subsequent Concorde Agreements were signed in 1987 and 1992 but in 1996 McLaren were again one of the teams pitched into dispute over the terms of a new agreement, this time with former FOCA president Bernie Ecclestone
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally considered the primary...
's Formula One Promotions and Administration organisation. McLaren rejected the Concorde Agreement of 1997 before signing a new ten-year agreement in 1998. Arguments over the commercial structure and regulations in the sport re-started in the mid-2000s with McLaren and their part owner Mercedes again amongst teams threatening to start a rival series until 2009 when another Concorde Agreement, effective until the end of 2012, was settled upon. In 2007 McLaren were involved in an espionage controversy
2007 Formula One espionage controversy
The 2007 Formula One espionage controversy, also known as "Spygate," or "Stepneygate" involves allegations that the McLaren Formula One team was passed confidential technical information from the Ferrari team, and that the Renault F1 team was passed confidential technical information from the...
after their chief designer Mike Coughlan
Mike Coughlan
Mike Coughlan is a race car designer. On 3 May 2011 it was announced that Coughlan will become the Chief Designer for Williams F1...
obtained confidential technical information from Ferrari. McLaren was excluded from the constructors' championship and fined 100 million US dollars.
Sponsorship, naming and livery
McLaren's Formula One team was originally called Bruce McLaren Motor Racing and for their first season ran white-and-green coloured cars as a result of a deal with the makers of the film Grand Prix. The most famous livery in the early years was the all-orange one of 1968–1971, also used in Can-Am and at the Indianapolis 500 and revived occasionally for pre-season testing in later years. The RACRoyal Automobile Club
The Royal Automobile Club is a private club and is not to be confused with RAC plc, a motorists' organisation, which it formerly owned.It has two club houses, one in London at 89-91 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, Surrey, next to the City of London Freemen's School...
and FIA governing bodies
Sport governing body
A sport governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sport governing bodies come in various forms, and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport...
relaxed their rules about on-car advertising in 1968 allowing Lotus to pioneer commercial sponsorship in Formula One with their Gold Leaf liveried cars. Thus in 1972, the Yardley
Yardley of London
Yardley of London is a traditional British cosmetics brand and is one of the oldest in the world. Established in 1770, Yardley was a major producer of soap and perfumery by the beginning of the 20th century. By 1910, it moved to London's Bond Street, and in 1921 Yardley received its first Royal...
cosmetics company became McLaren's first title sponsor and the colour scheme changed to a predominantly white one. In 1974, Philip Morris
Altria Group
Altria Group, Inc. is based in Henrico County, Virginia, and is the parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc., U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corporation, and Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. It is one of the world's largest tobacco corporations...
joined as title sponsor through their Marlboro cigarette brand, whilst one car continued to run—ostensibly by a separate team—with Yardley livery for the year. Marlboro's red-and-white branding lasted until 1996, during which time the team went by various names incorporating the word "Marlboro", making it the then longest running Formula One sponsorship (now surpassed by Hugo Boss
Hugo Boss
Hugo Ferdinand Boss was the founder of clothing company Hugo Boss.-Early life:Boss was born in Metzingen, Germany. After completing his apprenticeship and one year of employment, he founded his own company in Metzingen in 1923.-Support of Nazism:Boss joined the Nazi Party in 1931, two years before...
's 1981–present deal with McLaren). It was then replaced by Reemtsma
Reemtsma
Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken GmbH is one of the biggest tobacco and cigarette producers in Europe and a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco. The company's headquarter is in Hamburg, Germany.- History :...
's West
West (cigarette)
West is a German tobacco brand owned by the British company Imperial Tobacco.The cigarettes are available in most European Union countries except the UK and Ireland. The brand is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.-History:...
cigarette branding and a silver-and-black livery in 1997, the official name becoming West McLaren Mercedes.
By mid-2005, a European Union directive banning tobacco advertising
Tobacco advertising
Tobacco advertising is the advertising of tobacco products or use by the tobacco industry through a variety of media including sponsorship, particularly of sporting events. It is now one of the most highly regulated forms of marketing...
caused McLaren to end its association with West. For the 2006 season a red-and-silver colour scheme was adopted as they went without a title sponsor and were known simply as Team McLaren Mercedes, before the start of their current deal with Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
in 2007, since when the official team name has been Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. Aside from title sponsors, other current sponsors and suppliers include Diageo
Diageo
Diageo plc is a global alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine....
(Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch Whisky owned by Diageo and originated in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland.It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Scotch whisky in the world, sold in almost every country with yearly sales of over 130 million bottles.-History:Originally known as Walker's...
whisky brand), Aigo
Aigo
aigo is the trade name of Chinese consumer electronics company Beijing Huaqi Information Digital Technology Co Ltd. aigo should not be capitalized, much like "iPod".-History:...
, Aral
Aral AG
Aral is a brand of automobile fuels and gas stations, present in Germany and Luxembourg, but formerly used in most countries of Western and Central Europe. The company behind the brand name, Aral AG , is owned by BP, but was established in 1898 as Westdeutsche Benzol-Verkaufs-Vereinigung GmbH...
, Bosch
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...
, FedEx, Hugo Boss
Hugo Boss
Hugo Ferdinand Boss was the founder of clothing company Hugo Boss.-Early life:Boss was born in Metzingen, Germany. After completing his apprenticeship and one year of employment, he founded his own company in Metzingen in 1923.-Support of Nazism:Boss joined the Nazi Party in 1931, two years before...
, H&R, Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...
, Kenwood, Mazak
Yamazaki Mazak Corporation
Yamazaki Mazak Corporation is a machine tool builder based in Oguchi, Japan. In the United States and European Union it is known as Mazak.-History:The company was founded in 1919 in Nagoya by Sadakichi Yamazaki as a small company making pots and pans...
, Mobil 1
Mobil 1
Mobil 1 is a brand name developed by the Mobil oil company and now marketed by ExxonMobil.It was introduced in 1974 as a 5w single viscosity fully synthetic motor oil advertised for use up to 25,000 miles. Later, the miles-specific recommendation was dropped and the product reformulated in other...
, Sandtler, Santander
Grupo Santander
The Santander Group is a banking group centered on Banco Santander, S.A., the largest bank in the Eurozone and one of the largest banks in the world in terms of market capitalisation. According to Forbes Magazine Global 2000, it is the 13th largest public company in the world...
, SAP
SAP AG
SAP AG is a German software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. Headquartered in Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, with regional offices around the world, SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software...
, Stihl
Stihl
Andreas Stihl AG & Company is a manufacturer of chainsaws and other handheld power equipment including trimmers and blowers. Their headquarters are in Waiblingen, Baden-Württemberg near Stuttgart, in Germany. The company was founded in 1926 by Andreas Stihl, an important innovator in early chain...
, Lenovo, Sparco
Sparco
Sparco S.p.A is an Italian auto part and accessory company headquartered in Settimo Torinese, Turin, Italy that specializes in producing items such as seats, steering wheels, harnesses, racewear and helmets. Sparco branded alloy wheels are produced under licence by OZ Group...
, X-Trade Brokers, Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
and Würth
Würth
The Würth Group is a worldwide wholesaler of fasteners, screws and screw accessories, dowels, chemicals, furniture and construction fittings, tools, machines, installation material, automotive hardware, inventory management, storage and retrieval systems. Würth was founded in 1945 by Adolf Würth...
.
McLaren's early cars were named simply with the letter M followed by a number and sometimes a letter denoting the model. Since the 1981 merger with Project Four, the cars have been called "MP4/x", or since 2001 "MP4-x", where x is the generation of the chassis (e.g. MP4/1
McLaren MP4/1
The McLaren MP4/1 was a Formula One racing car produced by the McLaren team. It was used during the 1981, 1982 and 1983 seasons...
, MP4-22
McLaren MP4-22
The McLaren MP4-22 was Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes' Formula One car for the 2007 Formula One season. It was revealed in testing at Circuit de Valencia in Spain on 15 January 2007...
). "MP4" stood initially for "Marlboro Project 4", so that the full title of the cars (McLaren MP4/x) reflected not only the historical name of the team, but also the names of the team's major sponsor and its new component part. Since the change of title sponsor in 1997, "MP4" is now said to stand for "McLaren Project 4".
Formula One World Championship results
(italics indicates non-works entries; bold indicates championships won)| Season | Name | Car | Tyres | Engine | Drivers | WCC Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 2011 Formula One season The 2011 Formula One season was the 62nd FIA Formula One season. The original calendar consisted of twenty rounds, including the inaugural running of the Indian Grand Prix before the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Pirelli returned to the sport as tyre supplier for all teams, taking over... |
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | MP4-26 McLaren MP4-26 The McLaren MP4-26 is a Formula One racing car designed by McLaren for the 2011 Formula One season. It is being driven by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, the and World Drivers' Champions, respectively. The car was launched on 4 February at Potsdamer Platz located in Berlin, Germany, shortly... |
Mercedes-Benz | Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire... Jenson Button Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British... |
2nd (497 pts) | |
| 2010 2010 Formula One season The 2010 Formula One season was the 61st Formula One season of World Championship motor racing competition. Red Bull Racing won its maiden Constructors' Championship with a one-two finish in Brazil, while Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel won the Drivers' Championship after winning the final race... |
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | MP4-25 McLaren MP4-25 The McLaren MP4-25 was a Formula One motor racing car designed and raced by McLaren in the season. The car, which was driven by World Champion Jenson Button and World Champion Lewis Hamilton, was officially unveiled at title sponsor Vodafone's headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire, United Kingdom... |
Mercedes-Benz | Jenson Button Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British... Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire... |
2nd (454 pts) | |
| 2009 2009 Formula One season The 2009 Formula One season was the 60th FIA Formula One World Championship season. The season took place over 17 rounds, and started with the on 29 March 2009. It ended on 1 November 2009 with the inaugural .... |
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | MP4-24 McLaren MP4-24 The McLaren MP4-24 was McLaren-Mercedes' Formula One car for the 2009 Formula One season. It was revealed at McLaren's headquarters in Woking, United Kingdom on January 16, 2009.... |
Mercedes-Benz | Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire... Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus.... |
3rd (71 pts) |
|
| 2008 2008 Formula One season The 2008 Formula One season was the 59th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It began on 16 March and ended on 2 November with eighteen Grand Prix races.... |
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | MP4-23 McLaren MP4-23 The McLaren MP4-23 was Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes' Formula One car for the 2008 Formula One season. It was revealed at Mercedes-Benz's motor sport museum in Stuttgart on 7 January 2008, and it had its first on-track appearance at Jerez in Spain on 9 January... |
Mercedes-Benz | Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire... Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus.... |
2nd (151 pts) |
|
| 2007 2007 Formula One season The 2007 Formula One season was the 58th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, which began on 18 March and ended on 21 October after seventeen events. The Drivers' Championship was won by Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen by one point at the... |
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | MP4-22 McLaren MP4-22 The McLaren MP4-22 was Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes' Formula One car for the 2007 Formula One season. It was revealed in testing at Circuit de Valencia in Spain on 15 January 2007... |
Mercedes-Benz | Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari.... Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire... |
Excluded (203/218 pts) (2nd/1st) |
|
| 2006 2006 Formula One season The 2006 Formula One season was the 57th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship which began on March 12 and ended on October 22 after eighteen races. The Drivers' Championship was won by Fernando Alonso of Renault F1 for the second year in a... |
Team McLaren Mercedes | MP4-21 McLaren MP4-21 The McLaren MP4-21 is a Formula One car designed by Adrian Newey for the 2006 Formula One season. The car continues the MP4-X naming system and is notable for its striking chrome livery which is designed to maximize the visibility of the teams sponsors.... |
Mercedes-Benz | Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered... Pedro de la Rosa Pedro de la Rosa Pedro Martínez de la Rosa is a Formula One driver who has participated in 87 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren and Sauber teams, debuting on 7 March 1999, becoming one of very few drivers to score a point at his first race... |
3rd (110 pts) | |
| 2005 2005 Formula One season The 2005 Formula One season was the 56th FIA Formula One World Championship season, contested over a record 19 Grands Prix. It commenced on March 6, 2005, and ended October 16.... |
West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-20 McLaren MP4-20 The McLaren MP4-20 is a Formula One racing car that was built by McLaren. It was designed by Adrian Newey and Mike Coughlan, and introduced at the beginning of the 2005 Formula One season.- New design :... |
Mercedes-Benz | Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered... Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán is a Colombian race car driver known internationally for participating and winning in Formula One and CART race competitions. He has enjoyed great success. Currently, he competes in NASCAR, driving the #42 Target Chevrolet Impala for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the Sprint... Pedro de la Rosa Pedro de la Rosa Pedro Martínez de la Rosa is a Formula One driver who has participated in 87 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren and Sauber teams, debuting on 7 March 1999, becoming one of very few drivers to score a point at his first race... Alexander Wurz Alexander Wurz Alexander Wurz is an Austrian racing driver. He competed in Formula One from until , and is also a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours.... |
2nd (182 pts) | |
| 2004 2004 Formula One season The 2004 Formula One season was the 55th FIA Formula One World Championship season, running from March 7 to October 24, 2004. The season was dominated by Michael Schumacher and Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro... |
West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-19 McLaren MP4-19 The McLaren MP4-19 is a Formula One racing car that was built by McLaren. It was designed by Adrian Newey, and introduced at the beginning of the 2004 Formula One season. It was described as a "debugged version of the McLaren MP4-18." It was not a successful car, and the team suffered various... MP4-19B McLaren MP4-19 The McLaren MP4-19 is a Formula One racing car that was built by McLaren. It was designed by Adrian Newey, and introduced at the beginning of the 2004 Formula One season. It was described as a "debugged version of the McLaren MP4-18." It was not a successful car, and the team suffered various... |
Mercedes-Benz | David Coulthard David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons... Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered... |
5th (69 pts) | |
| 2003 2003 Formula One season The 2003 Formula One season was the 54th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on March 9, 2003 and ended on October 12 after sixteen races... |
West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-17D McLaren MP4-17 The McLaren MP4-17 was the car with which the McLaren team competed in the and Formula One seasons. It was driven by David Coulthard and Kimi Räikkönen in both seasons.... |
Mercedes-Benz | David Coulthard David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons... Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered... |
3rd (142 pts) | |
| 2002 2002 Formula One season The 2002 Formula One season was the 53rd FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 3, 2002, and ended on October 13 after seventeen races.... |
West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-17 McLaren MP4-17 The McLaren MP4-17 was the car with which the McLaren team competed in the and Formula One seasons. It was driven by David Coulthard and Kimi Räikkönen in both seasons.... |
Mercedes-Benz | David Coulthard David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons... Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Räikkönen Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered... |
3rd (65 pts) | |
| 2001 2001 Formula One season The 2001 Formula One season was the 52nd season of FIA Formula One racing. It featured the FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on March 4, 2001 and ended on October 14 after seventeen races. Michael Schumacher won the Drivers title with a record margin of 58 points, after achieving... |
West McLaren Mercedes | MP4-16 McLaren MP4-16 The McLaren MP4-16 was the car with which the McLaren team competed in the 2001 Formula One season. It was driven by double world champion Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard. 2001 marked their sixth season together as McLaren team-mates.... |
Mercedes-Benz | Mika Häkkinen Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion... David Coulthard David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons... |
2nd (102 pts) | |
| 2000 2000 Formula One season The 2000 Formula One season was the 51st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2000 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on March 12, 2000, and ended on October 22 after seventeen races... |
West McLaren Mercedes | MP4/15 McLaren MP4/15 The McLaren MP4/15 was the chassis with which McLaren-Mercedes competed in the 2000 Formula One season. The car proved highly competitive and scored seven victories, but was still narrowly beaten to both championships by Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari F1-2000.-Complete Formula One results: The... |
Mercedes-Benz | Mika Häkkinen Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion... David Coulthard David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons... |
2nd (152 pts) | |
| 1999 1999 Formula One season The 1999 Formula One season was the 50th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 7, 1999, and ended on October 31 after sixteen races. The season saw the introduction of a new event to the World Championship calendar, the Malaysian Grand Prix... |
West McLaren Mercedes | MP4/14 McLaren MP4/14 The McLaren MP4/14 was the racecar for the McLaren Formula One racing team. The chassis was used by Mika Häkkinen in winning the Drivers' Championship for the second time in a row, although the Constructors' Championship was won by Ferrari.... |
Mercedes-Benz | Mika Häkkinen Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion... David Coulthard David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons... |
2nd (124 pts) | |
| 1998 1998 Formula One season The 1998 Formula One season was the 49th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 8, 1998, and ended on November 1 after sixteen races.-Season summary:... |
West McLaren Mercedes | MP4/13 McLaren MP4/13 The McLaren MP4/13 was a racing car that the McLaren Formula One team used during the 1998 Formula 1 season. The dominance of the MP4/13 was displayed in the opening race of the season, the 1998 Australian Grand Prix. Drivers Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard outclassed the competition by leaving... |
Mercedes-Benz | Mika Häkkinen Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion... David Coulthard David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons... |
Champion (156 pts) | |
| 1997 1997 Formula One season The 1997 Formula One season was the 48th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 9, 1997, and ended on October 26 after seventeen races.-Season summary:... |
West McLaren Mercedes | MP4/12 McLaren MP4/12 The McLaren MP4/12 was the car with which the McLaren Formula One team contested the 1997 Formula One season. It was driven by Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard.... |
Mercedes-Benz | Mika Häkkinen Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion... David Coulthard David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons... |
4th (63 pts) | |
| 1996 1996 Formula One season The 1996 Formula One season was the 47th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1996 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on March 10, 1996, and ended on October 13 after sixteen races... |
Marlboro McLaren Mercedes | MP4/11 McLaren MP4/11 The McLaren MP4/11 was the car with which the McLaren team competed in the Formula One season. It was driven by Mika Häkkinen, who was in his third full season with the team, and David Coulthard, who moved from Williams.... |
Mercedes-Benz | Mika Häkkinen Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion... David Coulthard David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons... |
4th (49 pts) | |
| 1995 1995 Formula One season The 1995 Formula One season was the 46th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1995 FIA Formula One World Championship, which was contested over 17 races from March 26 to November 12, 1995. For the second year in succession, the Drivers' Championship was won by Michael Schumacher,... |
Marlboro McLaren Mercedes | MP4/10 McLaren MP4/10 The McLaren MP4/10 was the car with which the McLaren team competed in the Formula One season. It was driven mainly by Mark Blundell, who started the year without a drive, and Mika Häkkinen, who was in his second full season with the team. The car was also driven by champion Nigel Mansell and... MP4/10B McLaren MP4/10 The McLaren MP4/10 was the car with which the McLaren team competed in the Formula One season. It was driven mainly by Mark Blundell, who started the year without a drive, and Mika Häkkinen, who was in his second full season with the team. The car was also driven by champion Nigel Mansell and... MP4/10C McLaren MP4/10 The McLaren MP4/10 was the car with which the McLaren team competed in the Formula One season. It was driven mainly by Mark Blundell, who started the year without a drive, and Mika Häkkinen, who was in his second full season with the team. The car was also driven by champion Nigel Mansell and... |
Mercedes-Benz | Mika Häkkinen Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion... Nigel Mansell Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series... Mark Blundell Mark Blundell Mark Blundell is a Formula One, sports car, and CART racing driver. He was a Formula One presenter for the British broadcaster ITV until the end of the 2008 season when the TV broadcasting rights switched to the BBC.... Jan Magnussen Jan Magnussen Jan Magnussen is a racing driver from Denmark and a GM factory driver. He has competed in several of the most prestigious events in motor sport including CART, NASCAR, the FIA Formula One World Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.- Lower series racing :Magnussen dominated the 1994 British... |
4th (30 pts) | |
| 1994 1994 Formula One season The 1994 Formula One season was the 45th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1994 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on March 27, 1994, and ended on November 13 after sixteen races. The season is remembered as one of the most tragic and controversial seasons in... |
Marlboro McLaren Peugeot | MP4/9 McLaren MP4/9 The McLaren MP4/9 was a Formula One car designed by Neil Oatley for the 1994 Formula One season and was run by the Marlboro McLaren Team. Number 7 car was driven by Mika Häkkinen and the number 8 car by Martin Brundle.... |
Peugeot Peugeot Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion... |
Mika Häkkinen Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion... Martin Brundle Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle is a British racing driver from England, known as a Formula One driver and as an F1 commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011 and Sky Sports from 2012.... Philippe Alliot Philippe Alliot Philippe Alliot is a former racing driver who participated in Formula One from to and from to . He raced for RAM, Ligier, Larrousse and McLaren.... |
4th (42 pts) | |
| 1993 1993 Formula One season The 1993 Formula One season was the 44th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1993 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on March 14, 1993 and ended on November 7 after sixteen races... |
Marlboro McLaren | MP4/8 McLaren MP4/8 The McLaren MP4/8 was a Formula One racing car which competed in the 1993 season. It raced in all sixteen Grands Prix, scoring five wins. The engine was a Ford HB 3.5 V8... |
Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time... Michael Andretti Michael Andretti Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:... Mika Häkkinen Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion... |
2nd (84 pts) | |
| 1992 1992 Formula One season The 1992 Formula One season was the 43rd FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 1, 1992, and ended on November 8 after sixteen races... |
Honda Marlboro McLaren | MP4/6B McLaren MP4/6 The McLaren MP4/6 is a Formula One racecar that was designed by Neil Oatley for the F1 season. It was the first McLaren to be powered by a Honda V12 engine. The car was tested by Gerhard Berger in the off-season, but he was unimpressed with the new engine, feeling it was underpowered for what it... MP4/7A McLaren MP4/7A The McLaren MP4/7A was McLaren International's Formula One entry for 1992, and a follow-up to their successful MP4/6 from the previous season. The Williams-Renault combination was getting faster and more reliable, and became a formidable challenger to McLaren's dominance... |
Honda | Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time... Gerhard Berger Gerhard Berger Gerhard Berger, is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver, who previously owned 50% of the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One team until he sold his share back to energy drink owner Dietrich Mateschitz in November 2008.... |
2nd (99 pts) | |
| 1991 1991 Formula One season The 1991 Formula One season was the 42nd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1991 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on March 10, 1991 and ended on November 3 after sixteen races... |
Honda Marlboro McLaren | MP4/6 McLaren MP4/6 The McLaren MP4/6 is a Formula One racecar that was designed by Neil Oatley for the F1 season. It was the first McLaren to be powered by a Honda V12 engine. The car was tested by Gerhard Berger in the off-season, but he was unimpressed with the new engine, feeling it was underpowered for what it... |
Honda | Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time... Gerhard Berger Gerhard Berger Gerhard Berger, is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver, who previously owned 50% of the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One team until he sold his share back to energy drink owner Dietrich Mateschitz in November 2008.... |
Champion (139 pts) | |
| 1990 1990 Formula One season The 1990 Formula One season was the 41st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1990 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on March 11, 1990 and ended on November 4 after sixteen races... |
Honda Marlboro McLaren | MP4/5B McLaren MP4/5 The McLaren MP4/5 and its derived sister model the McLaren MP4/5B were Formula One racing cars designed by Neil Oatley under the supervision of Steve Nichols. The MP4/5 was loosely based on its predecessor, the all conquering McLaren MP4/4... |
Honda | Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time... Gerhard Berger Gerhard Berger Gerhard Berger, is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver, who previously owned 50% of the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One team until he sold his share back to energy drink owner Dietrich Mateschitz in November 2008.... |
Champion (121 pts) | |
| 1989 1989 Formula One season The 1989 Formula One season was the 40th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1989 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on March 26, 1989 and ended on November 5 after sixteen races... |
Honda Marlboro McLaren | MP4/5 McLaren MP4/5 The McLaren MP4/5 and its derived sister model the McLaren MP4/5B were Formula One racing cars designed by Neil Oatley under the supervision of Steve Nichols. The MP4/5 was loosely based on its predecessor, the all conquering McLaren MP4/4... |
Honda | Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time... Alain Prost Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix... |
Champion (141 pts) | |
| 1988 1988 Formula One season The 1988 Formula One season was the 39th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1988 FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on April 3, 1988 and ended on November 13 after sixteen races... |
Honda Marlboro McLaren | MP4/4 McLaren MP4/4 The McLaren MP4/4 was a highly successful Formula 1 car that competed in the 1988 Formula One season. It was designed by Gordon Murray, who based the design on his lowline Brabham BT55 car of 1986, and American engineer Steve Nichols. It is one of the most dominant Formula One cars ever built,... |
Honda | Alain Prost Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix... Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time... |
Champion (199 pts) | |
| 1987 1987 Formula One season The 1987 Formula One season was the 38th season of Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship for Drivers and Constructors which commenced on April 12, 1987 and ended on November 15 after sixteen races... |
Marlboro McLaren International | MP4/3 McLaren MP4/3 The McLaren MP4/3 is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren International during the 1987 Formula One World Championship. It was designed under the leadership of American engineer Steve Nichols, after John Barnard quit the team in August 1986... |
TAG Techniques d'Avant Garde TAG Group SA is a private holding company based in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. At the head is Mansour Ojjeh son of the founder of the TAG Group Akram Ojjeh, who was a wealthy Saudi entrepreneur... (Porsche Porsche in motorsport Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long distance races.Despite their early involvement in motorsports being limited to supplying relatively small engines to racing underdogs up until the late 1960s, by the mid-1950s Porsche had already tasted... ) |
Alain Prost Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix... Stefan Johansson Stefan Johansson Stefan Nils Edwin Johansson is a former Formula One driver from who drove for among others both Ferrari and McLaren during his Grand Prix career. Since leaving Formula One he has raced in a number of categories, including CART, various kinds of Sports car racing, and Grand Prix Masters... |
2nd (76 pts) | |
| 1986 1986 Formula One season The 1986 Formula One season was the 37th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 23, 1986, and ended on October 26 after sixteen races.... |
Marlboro McLaren International | MP4/2C McLaren MP4/2 -Complete Formula One results: -See also:* Williams FW11* Lotus 97T... |
TAG Techniques d'Avant Garde TAG Group SA is a private holding company based in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. At the head is Mansour Ojjeh son of the founder of the TAG Group Akram Ojjeh, who was a wealthy Saudi entrepreneur... (Porsche Porsche in motorsport Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long distance races.Despite their early involvement in motorsports being limited to supplying relatively small engines to racing underdogs up until the late 1960s, by the mid-1950s Porsche had already tasted... ) |
Alain Prost Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix... Keke Rosberg Keke Rosberg Keijo Erik Rosberg , nicknamed "Keke", is a Finnish former racing driver and winner of the Formula One World Championship. He was the first Finnish driver to compete regularly in the series. Rosberg grew up in Oulu and Iisalmi, Finland... |
2nd (96 pts) | |
| 1985 1985 Formula One season The 1985 Formula One season was the 36th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1985 Formula 1 World Championship which commenced on 7 April 1985 and ended on 3 November 1985 after sixteen races. World Championship titles were awarded for both Drivers and Manufacturers.-Season... |
Marlboro McLaren International | MP4/2B McLaren MP4/2 -Complete Formula One results: -See also:* Williams FW11* Lotus 97T... |
TAG Techniques d'Avant Garde TAG Group SA is a private holding company based in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. At the head is Mansour Ojjeh son of the founder of the TAG Group Akram Ojjeh, who was a wealthy Saudi entrepreneur... (Porsche Porsche in motorsport Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long distance races.Despite their early involvement in motorsports being limited to supplying relatively small engines to racing underdogs up until the late 1960s, by the mid-1950s Porsche had already tasted... ) |
Niki Lauda Niki Lauda Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines and was manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years.- Early years in racing :Born in Vienna,... Alain Prost Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix... John Watson |
Champion (90 pts) | |
| 1984 1984 Formula One season The 1984 Formula One season was the 35th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1984 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1984 Fomula One World Championship for Manufacturers which were contested concurrently over a sixteen race series which commenced on March 25,... |
Marlboro McLaren International | MP4/2 McLaren MP4/2 -Complete Formula One results: -See also:* Williams FW11* Lotus 97T... |
TAG Techniques d'Avant Garde TAG Group SA is a private holding company based in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. At the head is Mansour Ojjeh son of the founder of the TAG Group Akram Ojjeh, who was a wealthy Saudi entrepreneur... (Porsche Porsche in motorsport Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long distance races.Despite their early involvement in motorsports being limited to supplying relatively small engines to racing underdogs up until the late 1960s, by the mid-1950s Porsche had already tasted... ) |
Niki Lauda Niki Lauda Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines and was manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years.- Early years in racing :Born in Vienna,... Alain Prost Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix... |
Champion (143.5 pts) | |
| 1983 1983 Formula One season The 1983 Formula One season included the 34th FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on March 13, and ended on October 15 after fifteen races. Nelson Piquet won the World Drivers' Championship, his second Formula One title and the first one ever won by a driver using a turbocharged engine... |
Marlboro McLaren International | MP4/1C McLaren MP4/1 The McLaren MP4/1 was a Formula One racing car produced by the McLaren team. It was used during the 1981, 1982 and 1983 seasons... MP4/1E McLaren MP4/1 The McLaren MP4/1 was a Formula One racing car produced by the McLaren team. It was used during the 1981, 1982 and 1983 seasons... |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... TAG Techniques d'Avant Garde TAG Group SA is a private holding company based in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. At the head is Mansour Ojjeh son of the founder of the TAG Group Akram Ojjeh, who was a wealthy Saudi entrepreneur... (Porsche Porsche in motorsport Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long distance races.Despite their early involvement in motorsports being limited to supplying relatively small engines to racing underdogs up until the late 1960s, by the mid-1950s Porsche had already tasted... ) |
Niki Lauda Niki Lauda Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines and was manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years.- Early years in racing :Born in Vienna,... John Watson |
5th (34 pts) 18th (0 pts) |
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| 1982 1982 Formula One season The 1982 Formula One season was the 33rd FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on January 23, 1982, and ended on September 25 after sixteen races. The World Drivers' Championship was won by Williams driver Keke Rosberg. Rosberg was the first driver since Mike Hawthorn in the 1958... |
Marlboro McLaren International | MP4/1B McLaren MP4/1 The McLaren MP4/1 was a Formula One racing car produced by the McLaren team. It was used during the 1981, 1982 and 1983 seasons... |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
Niki Lauda Niki Lauda Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines and was manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years.- Early years in racing :Born in Vienna,... John Watson |
2nd (69 pts) | |
| 1981 1981 Formula One season The 1981 Formula One season included the 32nd FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on March 15, 1981, and ended on October 17 after fifteen races. Nelson Piquet won the Drivers' Championship, claiming the first of his three Formula One titles... |
McLaren International | M29C M29F MP4/1 McLaren MP4/1 The McLaren MP4/1 was a Formula One racing car produced by the McLaren team. It was used during the 1981, 1982 and 1983 seasons... |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
John Watson Andrea de Cesaris Andrea de Cesaris Andrea de Cesaris is an Italian former race car driver. He started 208 races but never won; his is the longest career without a race victory. A string of accidents early in his career earned him the nickname 'Andrea de Crasheris',... |
6th (28 pts) | |
| 1980 1980 Formula One season The 1980 Formula One season was the 31st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1980 World Championship of Drivers and the 1980 International Cup for F1 Constructors which were contested concurrently from January 13 to October 5 over a fourteen race series... |
Marlboro Team McLaren | M29B M29C M30 McLaren M30 The McLaren M30 is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren for part of the 1980 Formula One World Championship. It was a one-off car, primarily driven by Alain Prost... |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
John Watson Alain Prost Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix... Stephen South Stephen South Stephen South is a British former racing driver from England. He was educated at Harrow County School for Boys.He is chiefly known for winning the 1977 British Formula Three Championship... |
9th (11 pts) | |
| 1979 1979 Formula One season The 1979 Formula One season was the 30th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors which were contested concurrently over a fifteen round series which commenced on January 21, 1979, and ended on... |
Marlboro Team McLaren Löwenbräu Team McLaren |
M26 McLaren M26 The McLaren M26 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck for the McLaren team, to replace the aging McLaren M23 model. The car was designed to be a lighter and lower car than its predecessor, with a smaller frontal area and narrower monocoque... M28 McLaren M28 The McLaren M28 is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren in the 1979 Formula One World Championship. Powered by a conventional Ford Cosworth 3-litre engine, its ground effect design proved not particularly effective, and McLaren were never in the running for the championship with the car... M28B M28C M29 McLaren M29 The McLaren M29 is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren during part of both the 1979 Formula One World Championship and the 1980 Formula One World Championship. The F version was built in 1979, but ran during three races of the 1981 Formula One World Championship. It was driven by... |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
John Watson Patrick Tambay Patrick Tambay Patrick Daniel Tambay is a French former racing driver. He competed in 123 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, winning twice, securing 5 pole positions and scoring a total of 103 Championship points... |
7th (15 pts) | |
| 1978 1978 Formula One season The 1978 Formula One season included the 29th FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on January 15, 1978, and ended on October 8 after sixteen races. Mario Andretti was the season Champion and the last American to date to win a Formula One race... |
Marlboro Team McLaren Liggett Group/BS Fabrications BS Fabrications BS Fabrications was a Formula One team that competed between 1976 and 1978.It was founded by Bob Sparshott, a former engineer at Lotus who had worked with Jim Clark and Graham Hill... Centro Asegurador F1 Melchester Racing |
M23 McLaren M23 The McLaren M23 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck, with input from John Barnard, and built by the McLaren team. It was a development of the McLaren M16 Indianapolis 500 car. A Ford Cosworth DFV engine was used, which was prepared by specialist tuning company Nicholson Engines... M26 McLaren M26 The McLaren M26 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck for the McLaren team, to replace the aging McLaren M23 model. The car was designed to be a lighter and lower car than its predecessor, with a smaller frontal area and narrower monocoque... |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
James Hunt James Hunt James Simon Wallis Hunt was a British racing driver from England who won the Formula One World Championship in . Hunt's often action packed exploits on track earned him the nickname "Hunt the Shunt." After retiring from driving, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman... Patrick Tambay Patrick Tambay Patrick Daniel Tambay is a French former racing driver. He competed in 123 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, winning twice, securing 5 pole positions and scoring a total of 103 Championship points... Bruno Giacomelli Bruno Giacomelli Bruno Giacomelli is a former racing driver from Italy.He won one of the two 1976 British Formula Three Championships and the 1978 Formula Two championship. He participated in 82 Formula One grands prix, debuting on September 11, 1977... Brett Lunger Brett Lunger Robert Brett Lunger is a former racecar driver from the United States. Lunger was educated in dancing schools in Wilmington, the Holderness School, and Princeton University. He dropped out of Princeton after three years to enlist for service in Vietnam. He was a political science major. At the... Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan... Emilio de Villota Emilio de Villota Emilio de Villota Ruíz is a former racing driver from Spain, born in Madrid. He participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 2 May 1976... Tony Trimmer Tony Trimmer Tony Trimmer is a British former racing driver from England, who won the Shell British Formula Three Championship and E.R. Hall Trophy in 1970.... |
8th (15 pts) | |
| 1977 1977 Formula One season The 1977 Formula One season included the 28th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on January 9, 1977, and ended on October 23 after seventeen races.-Season summary:... |
Marlboro Team McLaren Chesterfield Racing Iberia Airlines Iberia Airlines Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S.A., commonly known as Iberia, is the flag carrier airline of Spain. Based in Madrid, it operates an international network of services from its main bases of Madrid-Barajas Airport and Barcelona El Prat Airport.... |
M23 McLaren M23 The McLaren M23 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck, with input from John Barnard, and built by the McLaren team. It was a development of the McLaren M16 Indianapolis 500 car. A Ford Cosworth DFV engine was used, which was prepared by specialist tuning company Nicholson Engines... M26 McLaren M26 The McLaren M26 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck for the McLaren team, to replace the aging McLaren M23 model. The car was designed to be a lighter and lower car than its predecessor, with a smaller frontal area and narrower monocoque... |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
James Hunt James Hunt James Simon Wallis Hunt was a British racing driver from England who won the Formula One World Championship in . Hunt's often action packed exploits on track earned him the nickname "Hunt the Shunt." After retiring from driving, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman... Jochen Mass Jochen Mass Jochen Richard Mass is a former race car driver from Germany.He participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on July 14, 1973 at the British Grand Prix... Gilles Villeneuve Gilles Villeneuve Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve, better known as Gilles Villeneuve , was a Canadian racing driver. An enthusiast of cars and fast driving from an early age, he started his professional career in snowmobile racing in his native province of Quebec... Bruno Giacomelli Bruno Giacomelli Bruno Giacomelli is a former racing driver from Italy.He won one of the two 1976 British Formula Three Championships and the 1978 Formula Two championship. He participated in 82 Formula One grands prix, debuting on September 11, 1977... Brett Lunger Brett Lunger Robert Brett Lunger is a former racecar driver from the United States. Lunger was educated in dancing schools in Wilmington, the Holderness School, and Princeton University. He dropped out of Princeton after three years to enlist for service in Vietnam. He was a political science major. At the... Emilio de Villota Emilio de Villota Emilio de Villota Ruíz is a former racing driver from Spain, born in Madrid. He participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 2 May 1976... |
3rd (60 pts) | |
| 1976 1976 Formula One season The 1976 Formula One season included the 27th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on January 25, 1976, and ended on October 24 after sixteen races... |
Marlboro Team McLaren | M23 McLaren M23 The McLaren M23 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck, with input from John Barnard, and built by the McLaren team. It was a development of the McLaren M16 Indianapolis 500 car. A Ford Cosworth DFV engine was used, which was prepared by specialist tuning company Nicholson Engines... |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
James Hunt James Hunt James Simon Wallis Hunt was a British racing driver from England who won the Formula One World Championship in . Hunt's often action packed exploits on track earned him the nickname "Hunt the Shunt." After retiring from driving, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman... Jochen Mass Jochen Mass Jochen Richard Mass is a former race car driver from Germany.He participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on July 14, 1973 at the British Grand Prix... |
2nd (74 pts) | |
| 1975 1975 Formula One season The 1975 Formula One season was the 26th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1975 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently from January 12 to October 5 over fourteen races... |
Marlboro Team Texaco Lucky Strike Racing |
M23 McLaren M23 The McLaren M23 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck, with input from John Barnard, and built by the McLaren team. It was a development of the McLaren M16 Indianapolis 500 car. A Ford Cosworth DFV engine was used, which was prepared by specialist tuning company Nicholson Engines... |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:... Jochen Mass Jochen Mass Jochen Richard Mass is a former race car driver from Germany.He participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on July 14, 1973 at the British Grand Prix... Dave Charlton Dave Charlton Dave Charlton is a former racing driver from South Africa. He participated in 13 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on January 1, 1965. He scored no championship points... |
3rd (53 pts) | |
| 1974 1974 Formula One season The 1974 Formula One season was the 25th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1974 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, contested concurrently over a fifteen race series which commenced on 13 January and ended on 6 October... |
Marlboro Team Texaco Yardley Team McLaren Scribante Lucky Strike Racing |
M23 McLaren M23 The McLaren M23 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck, with input from John Barnard, and built by the McLaren team. It was a development of the McLaren M16 Indianapolis 500 car. A Ford Cosworth DFV engine was used, which was prepared by specialist tuning company Nicholson Engines... |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:... Denny Hulme Denny Hulme Denis Clive "Denny" Hulme, OBE was a New Zealand racing driver, the 1967 Formula One World Champion for the Brabham team.... Mike Hailwood Mike Hailwood Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, MBE, GM was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time. He was known as "Mike The Bike" because of his natural riding ability... Jochen Mass Jochen Mass Jochen Richard Mass is a former race car driver from Germany.He participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on July 14, 1973 at the British Grand Prix... David Hobbs Dave Charlton Dave Charlton Dave Charlton is a former racing driver from South Africa. He participated in 13 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on January 1, 1965. He scored no championship points... |
Champion (73 pts) | |
| 1973 1973 Formula One season The 1973 Formula One season included the 24th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on January 28, 1973, and ended on October 7 after fifteen races.-Season summary:... |
Yardley Team McLaren | M19A McLaren M19A The McLaren M19A is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren in three World Championship seasons between 1971 and 1973. The C version was used in the and 1973 seasons.-External links:... M19C M23 McLaren M23 The McLaren M23 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck, with input from John Barnard, and built by the McLaren team. It was a development of the McLaren M16 Indianapolis 500 car. A Ford Cosworth DFV engine was used, which was prepared by specialist tuning company Nicholson Engines... |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
Denny Hulme Denny Hulme Denis Clive "Denny" Hulme, OBE was a New Zealand racing driver, the 1967 Formula One World Champion for the Brabham team.... Peter Revson Peter Revson Peter Jeffrey Revson was an American race car driver who had successes in Formula One and the Indianapolis 500.-Background:Peter Revson was born in New York City, the son of Julie and Martin Revson.... Jody Scheckter Jody Scheckter Jody David Scheckter is a South African former auto racing driver, the Formula One World Drivers Champion.-Career:Scheckter was born in East London, South Africa and educated at Selborne College.-Formula One:... Jacky Ickx Jacky Ickx Jacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx is a Belgian former racing driver who achieved 25 podium finishes in Formula One and six wins in the 24 hours of Le Mans.- Racing career :... |
3rd (58 pts) | |
| 1972 1972 Formula One season The 1972 Formula One season was the 23rd FIA Formula One season. It featured the 23rd World Championship of Drivers, the 15th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and numerous non-championship Formula One races. The World Championship season commenced on January 23 and ended on October 8 after... |
Team Yardley McLaren / Yardley Team McLaren |
M19A McLaren M19A The McLaren M19A is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren in three World Championship seasons between 1971 and 1973. The C version was used in the and 1973 seasons.-External links:... M19C |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
Denny Hulme Denny Hulme Denis Clive "Denny" Hulme, OBE was a New Zealand racing driver, the 1967 Formula One World Champion for the Brabham team.... Peter Revson Peter Revson Peter Jeffrey Revson was an American race car driver who had successes in Formula One and the Indianapolis 500.-Background:Peter Revson was born in New York City, the son of Julie and Martin Revson.... Jody Scheckter Jody Scheckter Jody David Scheckter is a South African former auto racing driver, the Formula One World Drivers Champion.-Career:Scheckter was born in East London, South Africa and educated at Selborne College.-Formula One:... Brian Redman Brian Redman Brian Herman Thomas Redman is a British racing driver from England.... |
3rd (47 pts) | |
| 1971 1971 Formula One season The 1971 Formula One season included the 22nd FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on March 6, 1971, and ended on October 3 after eleven races.-Season summary:... |
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ecurie Bonnier Penske-White Racing |
M7C M14A McLaren M14A The McLaren M14A is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren in the 1970 World Championship and the 1971 World Championship. The D car was later used as an extension of the A version, featuring a V8 Alfa Romeo engine.... M19A McLaren M19A The McLaren M19A is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren in three World Championship seasons between 1971 and 1973. The C version was used in the and 1973 seasons.-External links:... |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
Denny Hulme Denny Hulme Denis Clive "Denny" Hulme, OBE was a New Zealand racing driver, the 1967 Formula One World Champion for the Brabham team.... Peter Gethin Peter Gethin Peter Kenneth Gethin is a former racing driver.He participated in 31 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 21 June 1970. He won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix in the fastest average speed in Formula One history , but this was his only podium finish... Jackie Oliver Jackie Oliver Keith Jack Oliver, better known as Jackie Oliver, is a British former Formula One driver and team-owner from England... Jo Bonnier Helmut Marko Helmut Marko Dr. Helmut Marko is a former racing driver from Austria.A friend of Jochen Rindt, he entered racing, and eventually participated in 10 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 15 August 1971... Mark Donohue Mark Donohue Mark Neary Donohue, Jr. , nicknamed "Captain Nice", was an American racecar driver known for his ability to set up his own race car as well as driving it to victories. Donohue is probably best known as the driver of the 1500+ bhp “Can-Am Killer” Porsche 917-30 and as the winner of the 1972... |
6th (10 pts) | |
| 1970 1970 Formula One season The 1970 Formula One season included the 21st FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on March 7, 1970, and ended on October 25 after thirteen races... |
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Team Surtees Ecurie Bonnier Alfa Romeo |
M7C M14A McLaren M14A The McLaren M14A is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren in the 1970 World Championship and the 1971 World Championship. The D car was later used as an extension of the A version, featuring a V8 Alfa Romeo engine.... M7D M14D |
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Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... Alfa Romeo |
Denny Hulme Denny Hulme Denis Clive "Denny" Hulme, OBE was a New Zealand racing driver, the 1967 Formula One World Champion for the Brabham team.... Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor.... Peter Gethin Peter Gethin Peter Kenneth Gethin is a former racing driver.He participated in 31 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 21 June 1970. He won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix in the fastest average speed in Formula One history , but this was his only podium finish... Dan Gurney Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager... Andrea de Adamich Andrea de Adamich Andrea Lodovico de Adamich is a former racing driver from Italy. He participated in 34 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 1 January 1968. He scored a total of 6 championship points... Nanni Galli Nanni Galli Giovanni Giuseppe Gilberto Galli, nicknamed Nanni is an Italian former saloon and sports-car racer of the 1960s and 1970s.... John Surtees John Surtees John Surtees, OBE is a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver from England. He was 500cc motorcycle World Champion in 1956 and 1958–60, Formula One World Champion in 1964, and remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels... Jo Bonnier |
5th (35 pts) 9th (0 pts) |
| 1969 1969 Formula One season The 1969 Formula One season included the 20th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on March 1, 1969, and ended on October 19 after eleven races.-Season summary:... |
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Team Lawson Antique Automobiles / Colin Crabbe Racing |
M7A McLaren M7A The McLaren M7A and its M7B, M7C and M7D variants were Formula One racing cars, built by McLaren and used in the world championship between 1968 and 1971... M7B M7C M9A |
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Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
Denny Hulme Denny Hulme Denis Clive "Denny" Hulme, OBE was a New Zealand racing driver, the 1967 Formula One World Champion for the Brabham team.... Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor.... Derek Bell Derek Bell (auto racer) Derek Reginald Bell MBE is a former racing driver from England who was extremely successful in sportscar racing, winning five times at Le Mans. He also raced in Formula One for the Ferrari, McLaren, Surtees and Tecno teams... Basil van Rooyen Basil van Rooyen Basil van Rooyen is a former racing driver from South Africa. He participated in two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on January 1, 1968. He retired from both, scoring no championship points... Vic Elford Vic Elford Victor Henry Elford is a former sportscar racing, rallying and Formula One driver from England. He participated in 13 World Championship F1 Grands Prix, debuting on 7 July 1968... |
4th (38 pts) |
| 1968 1968 Formula One season The 1968 Formula One season included the 19th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on January 1, 1968, and ended on November 3 after twelve races.-Season summary:... |
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Joakim Bonnier Racing Team Joakim Bonnier Joakim "Jo" Bonnier was a Swedish sportscar racing and Formula One driver who raced for various teams.-Early life:... Anglo American Racers Anglo American Racers All American Racers was an American auto racing team and constructor based in Santa Ana, California. Founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in 1964, All American Racers initially participated in American sports car and Champ Car races as well as international Formula One events with cars named... |
M5A McLaren M5A The McLaren M5A/1 was a racing car constructed by Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, and was McLaren's first purpose-built Formula One car. Like its M4B predecessor, only one car of this type was ever built... M7A McLaren M7A The McLaren M7A and its M7B, M7C and M7D variants were Formula One racing cars, built by McLaren and used in the world championship between 1968 and 1971... |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... BRM |
Denny Hulme Denny Hulme Denis Clive "Denny" Hulme, OBE was a New Zealand racing driver, the 1967 Formula One World Champion for the Brabham team.... Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor.... Jo Bonnier Dan Gurney Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager... |
2nd (49 pts) 10th (3 pts) |
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| 1967 1967 Formula One season The 1967 Formula One season was the 18th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1967 World Championship of Drivers and the 1967 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, contested concurrently over an eleven race series which commenced on January 2, 1967, and ended on October 22... |
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing | M4B McLaren M4B The McLaren M4B was a Formula One racing car constructed by Trojan for Bruce McLaren Motor Racing and raced five times by New Zealander Bruce McLaren at the start of 1967.The M4B was based on the M4A Formula 2 car as a stopgap between the M2B and the M5A... M5A McLaren M5A The McLaren M5A/1 was a racing car constructed by Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, and was McLaren's first purpose-built Formula One car. Like its M4B predecessor, only one car of this type was ever built... M7A McLaren M7A The McLaren M7A and its M7B, M7C and M7D variants were Formula One racing cars, built by McLaren and used in the world championship between 1968 and 1971... |
BRM | Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor.... |
10th (3 pts) | |
| 1966 1966 Formula One season The 1966 Formula One season was the 17th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently over a nine race series that commenced on May 22 and ended on October 23... |
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing | M2B McLaren M2B The McLaren M2B was the McLaren team's first Formula One racing car, used during the 1966 season. It was conceived in 1965 and preceded by the M2A development car. Designed by Robin Herd, the innovative but problematic Mallite material was used in its construction... |
Cosworth Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... Serenissima Scuderia Serenissima Scuderia Serenissima was a successful auto racing team in the early 1960s. Funded by Giovanni Volpi, Serenissima used Ferraris to much success until the founder financed the exiled Ferrari company, ATS... |
Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor.... |
9th (2 pts) 12th (1 pt) |
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