MODEL McLaren MP4-16

ENGINE Mercedes V10

TIRES Bridgestone

DRIVERS
David Coulthard
Mika Hakkinen

MANAGING DIRECTOR
Ron Dennis

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Adrian Newey

PROFILE

The most successful team after Ferrari, McLaren was started back in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren, and the team entered it's first Grand Prix in 1966. Bruce McLaren himself gave the team their first win in Belgium, 1968, and, despite McLaren's death in 1970, the team continued, with Emerson Fittipaldi taking them to their first championship double in 1974.

The company as it is today was formed in 1980, when McLaren merged with Ron Dennis' Project 4 group. In the years between 1984 and 1991, McLaren lost the constructors' championship only twice, and in 1988, the Honda powered McLaren's driven by Senna and Prost won 15 out of the 16 races, scoring a record 199 championship points.

After Honda pulled out, the team fell from the top, and there were a few disastrous seasons with Ford and Peugeot engines. In 1995, Mercedes joined forces with McLaren, and the team's rise back to the top started. The first victories came in 1997, with David Coulthard winning two races, and Mika Hakkinen winning his first. Their efforts finally paid off in 1998, with Hakkinen taking the driver's championship, and McLaren winning the constructors'.

In 1999, McLaren would have won both championships again, but several mistakes by both the team and it's drivers saw Ferrari take the constructors' title. But Hakkinen was crowned world champion for the second year running. In 2000, the team expected to be able to take both championships again, but Ferrari were far closer to them at the start of the season than ever before.

It wasn't until Hungary, where Hakkinen finally took over the lead of the world championship, that McLaren ever looked like realistic contenders, with poor reliability plaguing the early part of the season. Michael Schumacher proved the better driver at the end of the year, and even the constructors' championship eluded the Woking team, going to Ferrari for the second year running. Rule changes for 2006 could see lower teams catch up to the top two, but the fight is likely to be between McLaren and Ferrari for many years to come.

WEB SITE

http://www.mclaren.co.uk