An in-depth look at the history of Formula 1 team McLaren – Part 1
McLaren became a part of Formula 1 back in 1966 and secured the 9th place in the constructors’ standings in its very first season in the sport.
The team used Ford and Serenissima engines in its debut season after which, the team started to flourish.
McLaren was founded by Bruce McLaren who was a driver from New Zealand back in 1963. The first win for the team also came from McLaren during a non-championship race back in 1968 after which they scored the race victory at the Belgian Grand Prix.
In 1966 the team took part in only 4 races but in 1967, McLaren took part in 6 races but unfortunately, they were able to secure just 3 points as a result of which they finished in 10th place in the constructors’ standings after using British
Racing Motorsport engines.
The team started to show its true pace and capability in 1968 though when they secured 3 race wins in order to secure the 2nd place in the constructors’ standings with 49 points.
The team shifted from Ford to BRM engines in 1968 after which they were able to secure just 3 points and finished in 10th place in the constructors’ standings.
However, McLaren proved that they have the capability to fight for some good points from now on though as they secured the 4th place in the 1969 Formula 1 season after scoring 40 points. The team secured 1 victory and 5 podium positions this season
and it seemed that the McLaren car back then suited the Ford engines a lot.
Therefore, the team decided to use these engines until the 1983 Formula 1 season. In 1970, McLaren were looking pretty strong once again as they scored 35 points to secure the 5th place in the constructors’ standings followed by another strong
performance the following year.
The team secured the 6th place in the constructors’ standings in 1971 after which they secured the 3rd place twice in a row from 1972-1973.
1974 was a major break through for McLaren when one of the most legendary drivers of the sport Emerson Fittipaldi joined the team and helped them secure their first constructors’ title.
The team secured the title after scoring 75 points with the help of 4 victories, 10 podium positions and 2 pole positions.
In 1975 though as McLaren were unable to retain their title and finished in 3rd place in the constructors’ standings after scoring 53 points.
Nevertheless, it was quite clear by then that McLaren were very consistent and they were not like those teams which perform well just for a year. By this point, McLaren and Ferrari made their ground and established themselves.
The team secured 2nd place in the 1976 Formula 1 season without Emerson Fittipaldi for the first time. McLaren signed Gilles Villeneuve the following year though and secured the 3rd place in the constructors’ standings with the help
of 60 points.
However, the following 4 years were quite tough for the team as they were just able to secure the 6th place in the 1981 Formula 1 season which was their best performance during these 4 disappointing years.
In 1980, the team signed Alain Prost but both the team and Prost were unable to score good results as they scored 9th place in the constructors’ standings.
Continued in part 2…
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