One of the oldest and most successful teams in Formula One history, McLaren get set to celebrate their 50th birthday at the Italian Grand Prix this weekend after reaching the milestone on Monday.
Founded by New Zealand legend Bruce McLaren in 1963, the GP Racing team made their debut in Formula 1 in 1966, and they have remained prominent on the scene ever since.
One Mans Dream
Born in Auckland in 1937, Bruce McLaren had a tough start to life. Diagnosed with Perthes Disease (a disorder of the hip joint) at the age of 9, he spent time in a hospital for a number of his childhood years; the condition also gave him a permanent limp. It was his experiences during this time that made him the man he was. He learnt how to make the most of the hand you are dealt with, battle against adversity, appreciate others, and above all that family matters. It is these qualities that he hoped to instil into the hearts of all that worked within McLaren’s walls.
In 1958 he was spotted by Ken Tyrell whilst competing in the F2 category at the German Grand Prix. In a race where both F1 and F2 cars competed against each other, McLaren finished as the top F2 participant and in fifth place overall, amidst a field that included some of the best drivers racing at the time. It was enough for Tyrell to offer him a drive in his F2 Cooper, an opportunity the young Kiwi snapped up, and it was here that he learnt much of his trade and perfected his great talent.
He moved up to the Cooper factory team the next year and in 1959 at the age of just 22, McLaren became the youngest driver to ever win a Formula 1 race at that time when he took victory in the US Grand Prix (only Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel have beaten this since). He went on to win further Grand Prix’s with the Cooper F1 team, finishing runner up in the World Drivers’ Championship in 1960 behind teammate Jack Brabham, and following that up with a third in 1962. McLaren became team Leader after Brabham left to build his own cars, but although he still loved the thrill of racing in Formula 1, he longed to test himself further. In 1963 he founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd and took 2 specially built Cooper cars to Australia to race in the Tasman Series with teammate Timmy Mayer. McLaren’s natural skill enabled him to take to the different style of racing like a duck to water. He won the Championship, but the victory was overshadowed by the tragic death of Mayer during practice for the last race of the season. Saddened by the loss but not deterred, McLaren returned to England and Formula 1. But the wins were no longer coming so easily and as time went on the New Zealander began to feel frustrated, he had visions and ideas just waiting to be realised, and so in 1965 he left Cooper to put those dreams into practice. In 1966 he set up a new arm to his business in the form of McLaren Racing Ltd, together with Teddy Mayer (Timmy’s brother). It would be a team of his own where his passion and innovation could really take off.
As well as being a World class racer, McLaren was a trained engineer and a master of design. Taking on the role of constructor, engineer, designer and driver, he started out on his new venture with fellow countryman Chris Amon as the team’s second driver. He entered his new team, and the first McLaren Formula 1 cars, into the Monaco Grand Prix for the 1966 season. Unfortunately their maiden outing ended almost as soon as it started, when an oil leak forced them to retire after just nine laps. The bodywork and innovative design of McLaren's car were quite ground breaking, it was finding an engine powerful and reliable enough to match it that was proving difficult. But this was the sort of misfortune that the plucky New Zealander thrived upon, experimenting and testing until he found the answer and could come back stronger. The team bagged their first points finish next time out at the Italian Grand Prix when McLaren himself finished in sixth place, but the rest of their maiden season was a pretty up and down affair with many retirements. The main highlight of the year for McLaren came whilst racing sports cars, which he also loved with a passion. Alongside Amon, he entered and won the 24 hours of Le Mans - a moment of euphoria in an otherwise topsy turvy year.
The teams second year in Formula 1 produced similar results and at the end of the 1967 season with their luck not improving, Amon left for Ferrari. Again it was in sports cars where McLaren excelled and in 1967 he won the 12 hours of Sebring with Mario Andretti.
During those early years of the team’s history McLaren also took on the US, entering the Can-AM Series (The Canadian-American Challenge Cup) for Group 7 sports cars in 1966. McLaren took to the wheel of the machine crafted by his own fair hands, this time partnered by Denny Hulme (another Kiwi). McLaren Racing Ltd were prolific in this format, dominating the Series for five years straight. In 1967 they won nearly every race in the Series between them and McLaren himself took the Championship.
After a fantastic year in America, the Team were itching to return to England to try and emulate their success in Formula 1. Hulme (World Champion in 1967 with Brabham) took the place of Amon at the wheel for the 1968 season. This year was a much better one for the team, with McLaren finally gaining his first win in his very own McLaren-Ford at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa. Teammate Hulme also took victories at the Italian and Canadian Grand Prix’s later in the season. And at the British Grand Prix, they achieved their first one-two finish. Things had started to look up for the Aucklander and his team, from here on in McLaren’s popularity and prowess in the sport began to grow.
They continued with their domination in the Can-Am Series over in America, which had now become affectionately known as the “Bruce and Denny Show”. Hulme won the Championship in 1968 and 1970, whilst McLaren took a further title in 1969. Their dazzling performance in the Series won them many admirers.
Tragically in 1970, aged just 32, McLaren was killed whilst testing a new Can-Am car at Goodwood. He was doing what he loved, and in his own words, his death should not be seen as a waste of life:
“To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone.” Bruce McLaren 1964
It was a devastating loss to the World of Motorsport, but his name and ethos live on at Team McLaren to this day, he became their inspiration and motivation.
The Legendary Team
In their 50 years in existence McLaren have won 182 Grand Prix’s, eight Constructors’ Championships and 12 Drivers’ titles.
Here are some of the stand out moments of their illustrious history:
In 1974, with Emerson Fittipaldi at the wheel, the McLaren Racing Team won their first Formula 1 Constructors title, as well as the Drivers’ title for Fittipaldi. It was one of the closest fought championships in history. The Brazilian was on equal points with Clay Regazzoni going into the last race of the season, whoever crossed the line first would be victorious. Fittipaldi finished in fourth place ahead of the Swiss driver who did not manage to place in the points, ensuring he was crowned overall champion.
Two years later James Hunt, in an enthralling and now legendary battle against Austrian Niki Lauda, took the 1976 Drivers’ Championship by just 1 point in what was a very controversial season. They missed out on the Constructors title to Ferrari however and it was an eight year wait before that title would come their way.
In 1980 Ron Dennis took over as Team Principal, a move which saw the start of a long spell of dominance for McLaren. The 1984 season was an exceptional one, now with Niki Lauda and Alain Prost in the driver’s seats they outclassed the rest of the field, taking the Constructors title by 86 points from Ferrari. Lauda also secured the Drivers’ Championship with teammate Prost a close second. They defended the title in 1985, and Prost took the Drivers’ Championship that year and the next. They were on a roll!
In 1988, Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna made his debut for the team. It was an absolute whitewash by McLaren, beating next best rivals Ferrari by 134 points to magnificently seal the Championship title; they won every race except the Italian Grand Prix that year. Senna won 8 races to Prost’s 7 and took the Drivers’ Championship by 3 points from his teammate. This saw the start of a spate of Championship victories for McLaren, taking the Constructors title for the next three seasons in a row, as well as Drivers Championships for Prost in 1989, and Senna again in both 1990 and 1991. But after such an emphatic period they began to fall behind and it would be another seven years before they would taste Championship victory again.
Adapting brilliantly to the many rule changes that came into force for the 1998 season, it was clear McLaren had understood them much better than their rivals, gaining them a definite edge. With Mika Hakkinen as lead driver they took the fight to Ferrari. The quiet Finn went on to take the Drivers’ Championship, holding off the challenge of a determined Michael Schumacher and bagging the Constructors title for McLaren in the process. Hakkinen also retained his Drivers’ Championship title with the team in 1999.
The 2007 season will probably go down as one of the worst in McLaren’s history, when they were stripped of all Constructors Championship points and fined 100 million (USD). The case against them became known as ‘spygate’ and McLaren were found guilty of benefiting from confidential data passed to them by a former member of the Ferrari team, which they themselves allowed Renault to be privy to. A bitter rivalry between the teams two drivers (Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton) did not help matters either. They finished level on points, both missing out on the title by just 1 point to Kimi Raikkonen.
After the embarrassment and controversy of the previous year, they moved onwards and upwards to glory once more. In 2008, in a hard fought battle against Felipe Massa in the Ferrari, Hamilton took the Drivers’ Championship title by 1 point in a thrilling end to the season in Sao Paulo. The Briton had a seven point lead over the Brazilian as they headed to the Autódromo José Carlos Pace. This meant that if the Brazilian won the race, Hamilton would have to finish in fifth place to be in with a chance of taking the title. The Ferrari man crossed the line in first place looking like he would be the victor with Hamilton currently languishing in sixth. But in the final corner, on the final lap of the race, the Brit passed Timo Glock to push him up to the required fifth position and crown him 2008 World Drivers’ Champion. It was a thrilling end to the season, and a great comeback for McLaren, but it was to be their last victory to date in either the Drivers or Constructors Championships.
Unfortunately the 2013 season is not going to plan for McLaren. Though they have two great drivers in Jenson Button and Sergio Perez, but losing Lewis Hamilton and Technical Director, Paddy Lowe to Mercedes was a definite blow to the teams challenge. They also took a big gamble with a complete re-think on the design of a car that ended the previous season on top, and unluckily this has not worked out for them. The team is without a win so far this season, and currently sits fifth in the Constructors Championship, with sixth place hot on their heels. They are not where they would want or expect to be, but it is this kind of risk taking and challenging circumstances that their founder would have loved and been proud of. Whether they can regain that winning formula this season is yet to be seen, but their fighting spirit and hunger to succeed will ensure they bounce back, to hopefully contest another 50 years in the sport!
Sources: ESPN, bruce-mclaren.com
Memory added on January 7, 2015
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