A detailed profile of McLaren Mercedes F1 team – Formula 1
The McLaren F1 racing team, commonly represented by the name of ‘Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’, is one of the oldest teams in the sport. The team has been based in Woking, Surrey, England since 2004. It is currently being led by team principal Martin Whitmarsh with drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. The car being driven for the present season is the MP4-27 powered by the Mercedes-Benz engine.
The team takes its name after its founder Bruce McLaren of New Zealand. Bruce established the team in 1963 which makes it one of the oldest teams in the history of Formula 1, second only to Ferrari. Bruce led the team to make its debut in the sport with the Monaco Grand Prix in 1966. The team took its very first Grand Prix victory during the Belgian GP of 1963. Bruce died in an accident that occurred during a testing session in 1970. Following the founder’s death, the team’s ownership was taken over by Teddy Mayer. Great success came to the team under Mayer’s lead as the team won its first constructors’ title in 1974 with driver Emerson Fittipaldi winning the drivers’ championship the same year.
In 1984, the team was joined by the strong duo of Niki Lauda and Alain Prost. Lauda was successful at beating his teammate for that season’s championship but only by a half a point which is counted as the smallest difference ever in F1. However, Prost won the championship for the next two years consecutively. The McLaren F1 team enjoyed an era of extreme success from 1988 to 1991 as the drivers’ title remained with the team changing hands randomly between Lauda and his new teammate Ayrton Senna. The team easily adjusted around the change in F1 regulations as they continued to dominate from 1998 to 1999.
The beginning of the 2000 F1 season marked the team’s descent. Their dominance on the F1 grid was taken over by Ferrari as they enjoyed the support of legendry Michael Schumacher. In 2006, the team signed on Spanish driver Fernando Alonso who got partnered by Lewis Hamilton the next year. Hamilton not only made his debut in F1 with the team but also had been under their wing since a young age. The partnership between the two did not last long due to tensions within team and also McLaren were involved in controversies throughout that season. Hamilton got to race with Heikki Kovalainen in 2008 and was successful at winning his first and the team’s first drivers’ championship since 1999. The next season did not begin well but the team gradually improved and finally overtook Ferrari. The next two seasons, the team struggled to match Red Bull’s pace and finished second on the drivers’ grid.
Other than F1, the team has also participated in competitions like Indianapolis 500 and the Canadian- American Challenge Cup (Can- Am). The team has enjoyed the sponsorship of various companies including Marlboro, Hugo Boss, FedEx and Kenwood etc. The sponsorship with Marlboro, a tobacco brand, was one of the longest ones in F1 but has now been surpassed by the one with Hugo Boss which remains to date.
The current season has not been a good one for McLaren. Constant reliability issues have been hindering the team’s progress. The team is ready to bid farewell to Hamilton, whom they have nurtured since a young age.
McLaren has the honour of winning eight world championships and securing 154 pole positions to date.
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