Founded in 1963 byBruce McLaren, the team won its first Grand Prix at the1968 Belgian Grand Prix, but their greatest initial success was in Can-Am, which they dominated from 1967 to 1971. Further American triumph followed, with Indianapolis 500 wins in McLaren cars forMark Donohue in1972 andJohnny Rutherford in1974 and1976. 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 in1974, withEmerson Fittipaldi andJames Hunt winning the Drivers' Championship in 1974 and1976 respectively. The year 1974 also marked the start of a long-standing sponsorship by theMarlboro cigarette brand.
In 1981, McLaren merged withRon Dennis'Project Four Racing; Dennis took over as team principal, and shortly afterwards organised a buyout of the original McLaren shareholders to take full control of the team. This began the team's most successful era; withPorsche andHonda engines,Niki Lauda,Alain Prost, andAyrton Senna won seven Drivers' Championships between them and the team took six Constructors' Championships. The combination of Prost and Senna was particularly dominant—together they won all but one race in1988—but later their rivalry soured and Prost left for Ferrari. Fellow English teamWilliams offered the most consistent challenge during this period, the two winning every constructors' title between1984 and1994. By the mid-1990s, Honda had withdrawn from Formula One, Senna had moved to Williams, and the team went three seasons without a win. WithMercedes-Benz engines,West sponsorship, and former Williams designerAdrian Newey, further championships came in1998 and1999 with driverMika Häkkinen, and during the 2000s the team were consistent front-runners, withLewis Hamilton taking their latest drivers' title in2008.
Ron Dennis retired as McLaren team principal in 2009, handing over to long-time McLaren employeeMartin Whitmarsh. At the end of 2013, after the team's worst season since 2004, Whitmarsh was ousted. McLaren announced in 2013 that they would be usingHonda engines from 2015 onwards, replacing Mercedes-Benz.[8] The team raced as McLaren Honda for the first time since 1992 at the2015 Australian Grand Prix. The second Honda partnership did not yield good results, and in September 2017, McLaren announced they had agreed on an engine supply withRenault from 2018 to 2020. McLaren returned to using Mercedes-Benz engines from the 2021 season, with a deal in place until at least 2030.[9][10] The team's ninth Constructors' Championship, and first since 1998, was won in2024, with their tenth coming in2025, making McLaren the second-most successful Formula One team of all time in terms of Constructors' Championships won.
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing was founded in 1963 by New ZealanderBruce McLaren.[13] Bruce was aworks driver for the BritishFormula One teamCooper with whom he had won threeGrands Prix and come second in the1960 World Championship. Wanting to compete in theAustralasianTasman 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 teammateTimmy Mayer with custom-built Cooper cars.[14]
Bruce won the1964 series, but Mayer was killed in practice for the final race at theLongford Circuit inTasmania. When Bruce McLaren approached Teddy Mayer to help him with the purchase of the Zerex sports car from Roger Penske, Teddy Mayer and Bruce McLaren began discussing a business partnership resulting in Teddy Mayer buying in to Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Limited (BMMR) and ultimately becoming its largest shareholder.[15][16]
During this period, Bruce drove for his team insports car races in the United Kingdom and North America and also entered the1965 Tasman Series withPhil Hill, but did not win it.[20] 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.[21]
Bruce McLaren made the team's Grand Prix debut at the1966 Monaco race (of the current Formula One teams, onlyFerrari is older[24][a]).[13] His race ended after nine laps due to a terminal oil leak.[26] The1966 car was theM2B designed byRobin Herd, but the programme was hampered by a poor choice of engines: a 3.0-litre version ofFord'sIndianapolis 500 engine and aSerenissimaV8 were used, the latter scoring the team's first point inBritain, but both were underpowered and unreliable.[21][26] For1967 Bruce decided to use aBritish Racing Motors (BRM)V12 engine, but due to delays with the engine, was forced initially to use a modifiedFormula Two car called theM4B powered by a 2.1-litre BRM V8, later building a similar but slightly larger car called theM5A for the V12.[26] Neither car brought great success, the best result being a fourth atMonaco.
For1968, after driving McLaren's sole entry for the previous two years, Bruce was joined by 1967 champion and fellow New ZealanderDenny Hulme, who was already racing for McLaren inCan-Am.[27][28] That year's newM7A car, Herd's final design for the team, was powered byCosworth's new and soon to be ubiquitousDFV engine[29][30] (the DFV would go on to be used by McLaren until 1983) and with it a major upturn in form proceeded. Bruce won theRace of Champions at theBrands Hatch circuit and Hulme won theInternational Trophy atSilverstone, both non-championship races,[31] before Bruce took the team's first championship win at theBelgian Grand Prix.[32] Hulme also won theItalian andCanadian Grands Prix later in the year, helping the team to second in the Constructors' Championship. Using an updated 'C' version on the M7,[33] a further three podium finishes followed for Bruce in1969, but the team's fifth win had to wait until the last race of the 1969 championship when Hulme won theMexican Grand Prix. That year, McLaren experimented withfour-wheel drive in theM9A, but the car had only a single outing driven byDerek Bell at theBritish Grand Prix; Bruce described driving it as like "trying to write your signature with somebody jogging your elbow".[34]
The year1970 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 atGoodwood while testing the new M8D Can-Am car.[33] After his death,Teddy Mayer took over effective control of the team;[16] Hulme continued withDan Gurney andPeter 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. While1971 began promisingly when Hulme led the opening round inSouth Africa before retiring with broken suspension,[35] ultimately Hulme, Gethin (who left for BRM mid-season,[36]) andJackie Oliver again failed to score a win. The 1972 season saw improvements though: Hulme won the team's first Grand Prix for2+1⁄2 years inSouth Africa and he andPeter Revson scored ten other podiums, the team finishing third in the Constructors' Championship. McLaren gaveJody Scheckter his Formula One debut at thefinal race atWatkins Glen.[36] All McLaren drivers used the Ford-Cosworth engines, except forAndrea de Adamich andNanni Galli who used engines fromAlfa Romeo in 1970.
TheMcLaren M23, designed by Gordon Coppuck, was the team's new car for the1973 season.[36] Sharing parts of the design of both McLaren's Formula OneM19 and Indianapolis M16 cars (itself inspired byLotus's72),[37] it was a mainstay for four years.[38] Hulme won with it inSweden and Revson took the only Grand Prix wins of his career inBritain andCanada. In1974,Emerson Fittipaldi, world champion with Lotus two years earlier, joined McLaren.[39] Hulme, in his final Formula One campaign,[40] won theArgentinian season-opener; Fittipaldi, with wins inBrazil,Belgium andCanada, took the Drivers' Championship. It was a close fight for Fittipaldi, who secured the title with a fourth at the season-endingUnited States Grand Prix, putting him three points ahead of Ferrari'sClay Regazzoni. With Hulme and multiple motorcycle world championMike Hailwood, he also sealed McLaren's first Constructors' Championship. The year1975 was less successful for the team: Fittipaldi was second in the championship behindNiki Lauda. Hulme's replacementJochen Mass took his sole GP win inSpain.
At the end of 1975, Fittipaldi left to join his brother'sFittipaldi/Copersucar team.[39] With the top drivers already signed to other teams, Mayer turned toJames Hunt, a driver on whom biographer Gerald Donaldson reflected as having "a dubious reputation".[41] In1976, Lauda was again strong in his Ferrari; at midseason, he led the championship with 56 points while Hunt had only 26 despite wins inSpain (a race from which he was initially disqualified[42]) andFrance. At theGerman Grand Prix, though, Lauda crashed heavily, was nearly killed, and missed the next two races.[43] Hunt capitalised by winning four more Grands Prix giving him a three-point deficit going into the finale inJapan. Here it rained torrentially, Lauda retired because of safety concerns, and Hunt sealed the Drivers' Championship by finishing third.[42] McLaren, though, lost the Constructors' Championship to Ferrari.
In1977, the M23 was gradually replaced with theM26, the M23's final works outing beingGilles Villeneuve's Formula One debut with the team in a one-off appearance at theBritish Grand Prix.[44][45] 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 andMario Andretti took the1978 titles with their78 and79ground-effect cars[46] and neither Hunt nor Mass's replacementPatrick Tambay were able to seriously challenge with the nonground-effect M26.[47] Hunt was dropped at the end of 1978 in favour of Lotus'sRonnie Peterson, but when Peterson was killed by a crash at theItalian Grand Prix,John Watson was signed, instead.[48] No improvement occurred in1979; Coppuck'sM28 design was described by Mayer as "ghastly, a disaster" and "quite diabolical" and theM29 did little to change the situation.[48] Tambay scored no points and Watson only 15 to place the team eighth at the end of the year.
Five years after his first retirement, Lauda won his third title driving aMcLaren MP4/2.Alain Prost, pictured here at the1985 German Grand Prix, won three Drivers' Championships with McLaren.Equipped withHonda engines and the driving strength of Prost andAyrton Senna for1988, McLaren dominated the season, winning all but one race. Senna won his first world championship after a season-long battle with Prost.
The 1980s started much as the 1970s had ended:Alain Prost took over from Tambay[49] but Watson and he rarely scored points. Under increasing pressure since the previous year from principal sponsorPhilip Morris and their executiveJohn Hogan, Mayer was coerced into merging McLaren withRon Dennis's Project Four Formula Two team, also sponsored by Philip Morris.[50][51] Dennis had designerJohn Barnard who, inspired by thecarbon-fibre rear wings of theBMW M1 race cars that Project Four was preparing, had ideas for an innovative Formula One chassis constructed from carbon-fibre instead of conventionalaluminium alloy.[52] On their own, they lacked the money to build it, but with investment that came with the merger it became theMcLaren MP4 (later called MP4/1) of1981, driven by Watson andAndrea de Cesaris.[53][54] In the MP4, Watson won theBritish Grand Prix and had three other podium finishes. Soon after the merger, McLaren moved from Colnbrook to a new base in Woking and Dennis and Mayer initially shared the managing directorship of the company; by 1982, Mayer had departed and Tyler Alexander's and his shareholdings had been bought by the new owners.[55][56]
In the early 1980s, teams likeRenault, Ferrari andBrabham were using 1.5-litreturbocharged engines in favour of the 3.0-litrenaturally aspirated engines that had been standard since 1966.[30] Having seen in 1982 the need for a turbo engine of their own, Dennis had convincedWilliams backerTechniques d'Avant Garde (TAG) to fundPorsche-built, TAG-branded turbo engines made to Barnard's specifications; TAG's founderMansour Ojjeh would later become a McLaren shareholder. In the meantime, they continued with Cosworth engines as old rival Lauda came out of retirement in 1982 to drive alongside Watson in that year's 1B development of the MP4.[53][57][58] They each won two races, Watson notably from 17th place on the grid inDetroit,[53] and at one stage of the season McLaren were second in the constructors' championship. As part of a dispute withFISA, they boycotted theSan Marino Grand Prix.[59] Although1983 was not so fruitful, Watson did win again in the United States, this time from 22nd on the grid atLong Beach.[60]
Having been fired by Renault, Prost returned to McLaren once again for1984.[61] Now using the TAG engines, the team dominated, scoring 12 wins and2+1⁄2 times as many constructors' points as nearest rival Ferrari. In the Drivers' Championship, Lauda prevailed over Prost by half a point, the narrowest margin ever.[62] The McLaren-TAGs were again strong in1985; a third Constructors' Championship came their way while this time Prost won the Drivers' Championship. In1986, theWilliams team were resurgent with theirHonda engine and driversNigel Mansell andNelson Piquet, while at McLaren, Lauda's replacement, 1982 championKeke Rosberg could not gel with the car. Williams took the Constructors' Championship, but for Prost, wins inSan Marino,Monaco, andAustria 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, theAustralian 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 sinceJack Brabham in1959 and 1960.[63] In1987 Barnard departed for Ferrari to be replaced byGordon Murray as Technical Director, withSteve Nichols (who himself joined Ferrari in 1989) remaining as Chief Designer.[64][65][66] In the hands of Prost andStefan Johansson, though, Nichols'sMP4/3 and the TAG engine could not match the Williams-Honda.
For1988, Honda switched their factory supply to McLaren and, encouraged by Prost, Dennis signedAyrton Senna to drive.[67] Despite regulations reducing the boost pressure and fuel capacity (and therefore, power) of the turbo cars, Honda persisted with a turbocharged engine.[68] In theMP4/4, Senna and Prost engaged in a season-long battle, winning 15 of the 16 races (at the other race atMonza, Senna had been leading comfortably, but collided with back-markerJean-Louis Schlesser[69]). At thePortuguese 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."[70] Prost scored more points that year, but because only the best 11 results counted, Senna took the title at the penultimate race inJapan.[71][72]
The next year, with turbos banned, Honda supplied a new 3.5-L naturally aspiratedV10 engine[73] and McLaren again won both titles with theMP4/5. Their drivers' relationship continued to deteriorate, though, especially when, at theSan Marino Grand Prix, Prost felt that Senna had reneged on an agreement not to pass each other at the first corner.[74] Believing that Honda and Dennis were favouring Senna, Prost announced mid-season that he would leave to drive at Ferrari the following year.[75] For the second year in succession, the Drivers' Championship was decided at theJapanese Grand Prix, this time in Prost's favour after Senna and he collided (Senna initially recovered and won the race, but was later disqualified).[76]
With former McLaren men Nichols and Prost (Barnard had moved to theBenetton team), Ferrari pushed the British team more closely in1990. McLaren, in turn, brought in Ferrari'sGerhard Berger, but like the two seasons before, the Drivers' Championship was led by Prost and Senna and settled atthe 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;[77] McLaren also won the Constructors' Championship. The1991 year was another for McLaren and Senna, with the ascendant Renault-powered Williams team their closest challengers. By1992, Williams, with their advancedFW14B car,[78] had overtaken McLaren, breaking their four-year run as champions, despite the latter winning five races that year.
As Honda withdrew from the sport at end of 1992 following theJapanese asset price bubble inJapan,[79] McLaren sought a new engine supplier. A deal to secure Renault engines fell through due to being vetoed by Renault's fuel and lubricant supplierElf Aquitaine, subsequently McLaren switched to customerFord engines for the1993 season.[80] Senna—who initially agreed only to a race-by-race contract before later signing for the whole year[81][82]—won five races, including a record-breaking sixth victory atMonaco and a win at theEuropean Grand Prix, where he went from fifth to first on the opening lap.[83] His teammate,1991CART championMichael Andretti, fared much worse; he scored only seven points, and was replaced by test driverMika Häkkinen for the final three rounds of the season.[84][85] Williams ultimately won both titles and Senna—who had flirted with moving there for 1993—signed with them for the1994 season.[80][86] During the 1993 season McLaren took part in a seven partBBC Television documentary calledA Season With McLaren.[87]
McLaren tested aLamborghini V12 engine ahead of the1994 season, as part of a potential deal with the then-Lamborghini ownerChrysler, before eventually deciding to use full-worksPeugeot engines. With Peugeot power, theMP4/9 was driven by Häkkinen andMartin Brundle, despite achieving eight podiums over the season no wins were achieved. Peugeot was dropped after a single year due to multiple engine failures/unreliability which cost McLaren potential race victories and they switched to aMercedes-Benz-branded,Ilmor-designed engine.[88]
For 1995 season onwards, McLaren ended their engine deal withPeugeot Sport and started an engine full-works partnership withMercedes-Benz High Performance Engines for the first time, after the German manufacturer spent one year in partnership with the then-youngestSauber team.[89] The partnership included bespoke free engines from Mercedes-Benz that built, assembled and tuned byIlmor Engineering inBrixworth,England, Mercedes-Benz official team vehicles, financial support, also earned full-factory support fromDaimler AG andMercedes-Benz and also Mercedes-Benz and Ilmor staffs would work with the team at their Woking base.
McLaren's Formula One car for the1995 season, theMP4/10, was not a front-runner and Brundle's replacement, former championNigel Mansell, was unable to fit into the car at first and departed after just two races, withMark Blundell taking his place.[90]
While Williams dominated in1996, McLaren, now withDavid Coulthard alongside Häkkinen,[91] went a third successive season without a win. In1997, however, Coulthard broke this run by winning the season-openingAustralian Grand Prix; Häkkinen and he would each win another race before the end of the season, and highly rated designerAdrian Newey joined the team from Williams in August that year.[92] Despite the car's improved pace, unreliability proved costly throughout the season, with retirements at theBritish andLuxembourg Grands Prix occurring whilst Häkkinen was in the lead. It was also at the start of this season that saw long time sponsor, Marlboro, shift its support to long time rival Ferrari. For the first time since the 1974 season, McLaren would have a new identity, shifting to fellow tobacco sponsor West. This saw the traditional red and white replaced with silver, grey, white and red. McLaren would retain this colour scheme (or very similar) for twenty years until 2017.
With Newey able to take advantage of new technical regulations for1998,[93] and with Williams losing their works Renault engines following Renault's temporary withdrawal from the sport, McLaren were once again able to challenge for the championship. Häkkinen and Coulthard won five of the first six races despite the banning of the team's"brake steer" system, which allowed the rear brakes to be operated individually to reduceundersteer, after a protest by Ferrari at the second race inBrazil.[94][95][96] Schumacher and Ferrari provided the greatest competition, the former levelled on points with Häkkinen with two races to go, but wins for Häkkinen at theLuxembourg andJapanese Grands Prix gave both him the Drivers' Championship and McLaren the Constructors' Championship. Häkkinen won his second Drivers' Championship thefollowing season, but due to a combination of driver errors and mechanical failures, the team lost the constructors' title to Ferrari.
In2000 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 dominance of Formula One and alsoberyllium engine material banned inFormula One that affected Mercedes engine performance. In2001, Häkkinen was outscored by Coulthard for the first time since 1997 and retired (ending Formula One's longest ever driver partnership), his place taken byKimi Räikkönen,[97] then in2002, Coulthard took their solitary win atMonaco while Ferrari repeated McLaren's 1988 feat of 15 wins in a season.
The year2003 started promisingly, with one win each for Coulthard and Räikkönen at the first two Grands Prix. However, they were hampered when theMP4-18 car designed for that year suffered crash test and reliability problems, forcing them to continue using a 'D' development of the year-oldMP4-17 for longer than they had initially planned.[98] Despite this, Räikkönen scored points consistently and challenged for the championship up to the final race, eventually losing by two points. The team began2004 with theMP4-19, which technical director Adrian Newey described as "a debugged version of [the MP4-18]".[98] It was not a success, though, and was replaced mid-season by the MP4-19B. With this, Räikkönen scored the team's and his only win of the year at theBelgian Grand Prix, as McLaren finished fifth in the Constructors' Championship, their worst ranking since 1983.
Coulthard left forRed Bull Racing in2005 to be replaced by former CART championJuan Pablo Montoya for what was McLaren's most successful season in several years as he and Räikkönen won ten races. However, both the team not being able to work out why the car could not heat its tyres properly in the early stages of the season and the overall unreliability of theMP4-20 cost several race victories when Räikkönen had been leading or in contention to win and also costing him grid positions in some qualifying sessions, which allowed Renault and their driverFernando Alonso to capitalise and win both titles.
In2006, 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 inNASCAR after theUnited States Grand Prix, where he crashed into Räikkönen at the start; test driverPedro de la Rosa deputised for the remainder of the season.[99] The team also lost Räikkönen to Ferrari at the end of the year.[100]
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.[101] His cited examples of instability are logistical challenges related to the move to theMcLaren Technology Centre, Adrian Newey's aborted move toJaguar and later move to Red Bull, the subsequent move of Newey's deputy to Red Bull, and personnel changes at Ilmor.[101]
After scoring no victories in 2006, the team returned to competitive status in2007. That year saw Fernando Alonso race alongside Formula One debutant and long-time McLaren protégéLewis Hamilton.[102][103] The pair scored four wins each and led the Drivers' Championship for much of the year, but tensions arose within the team, BBC Sport claimed that Alonso was unable to cope with Hamilton's competitiveness.[104] At theHungarian Grand Prix, Alonso was judged to have deliberately impeded his teammate during qualifying, so the team were not allowed to score Constructors' points at the event.[105] An internal agreement within the McLaren team stated that drivers would alternatively have an extra lap for qualifying, however, Lewis Hamilton refused to accept for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Subsequently, the McLaren team was investigated by theFIA for having proprietary technical blueprints of Ferrari's car – theso-called "Spygate" controversy. At the first hearing, McLaren management consistently denied all knowledge, blaming a single "rogue engineer". However, in the final hearing, McLaren was found guilty and the team was excluded from the Constructors' Championship and fined $100 million.[106] The drivers were allowed to continue without penalty, and while Hamilton led the Drivers' Championship heading into the final race inBrazil, Räikkönen in the Ferrari 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.[107][108]
In2008, a close fight ensued between Hamilton and the Ferraris ofFelipe Massa and Räikkönen; Hamilton won five times and despite also crossing the finish line first at theBelgian Grand Prix, he was deemed to have gained an illegal advantage by cutting a chicane during an overtake and was controversially demoted to third.[109] Going into thefinal 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 inHungary, Kovalainen finished the season only seventh in the overall standings, allowing Ferrari to take the constructors' title.
Before the start of the2009 season, Dennis retired as team principal, handing responsibility toMartin Whitmarsh,[110] but the year started badly: theMP4-24 car was off the pace and the team was given a three-race suspended ban for misleading stewards at theAustralian andMalaysian Grands Prix.[111] Despite these early problems, a late revival had Hamilton win at theHungarian andSingapore Grands Prix.
For the2010 season, McLaren lost its status as the Mercedes works team; Mercedes decided to buy the Brackley-basedBrawn team that had won the 2009 titles with its customer engines, Whitmarsh having chosen to abandon their exclusive rights to the Mercedes engines to help Brawn run.[112] Mercedes still continued providing engines to McLaren, albeit under a supplier-customer relationship rather than the works partnership as before, while it sold its 40% shares of McLaren over two years but instead Mercedes remained supplying free engines for McLaren team until 2012.[112] McLaren signed 2009 champion,Jenson Button, to replace Kovalainen alongside Hamilton in2010.[113] Button won twice (inAustralia andChina) and Hamilton three times (inTurkey,Canada, andBelgium), but they and McLaren failed to win their respective championships, that year'sMP4-25 largely outpaced by Red Bull'sRB6.
Hamilton and Button remained with the team into2011, with Hamilton winning three races –China,Germany, andAbu Dhabi and Button also winning three races –Canada,Hungary, andJapan. Button finished the Drivers' Championship in second place with 270 points behind 2011 Drivers' ChampionSebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing, ahead of Hamilton's 227 points. McLaren was second in the Constructors' Championship to Red Bull Racing. Throughout the season, Hamilton was involved in several incidents with other drivers including – most notably – multiple collisions with 2008 title rival Massa.[114]
In2012, McLaren won the first race of the year inAustralia with a dominant victory by Button and a 3rd place from pole for Hamilton, while Hamilton went on to win inCanada, but by the mid-way mark of the season at the team's home race at Silverstone, the McLaren cars managed only eighth place (Hamilton) and 10th place (Button), while the drivers' and Constructors' Championships were being dominated by Red Bull Racing and Ferrari, whose cars occupied the first four places of theBritish Grand Prix, this was partially due to pit stop problems and Button's temporary dip in form after not adapting as well as Hamilton to the new Pirelli tyres. The car also suffered reliability problems which cost the team and its drivers numerous potential points, most notably inSingapore andAbu Dhabi, where Hamilton had been leading from the front in both races[115] and in Italy where the team lost a 1-2 finish when Button's car failed with fuel problems on lap 33.[116]
Sergio Pérez replaced Hamilton for2013, after Hamilton decided to leave forMercedes.[117][118] However, from 2013 to 2014 seasons McLaren'sMercedes links were weaker due toMercedes focused on its own works team. For eighteen seasons McLaren utilized bespoke free works engines, however from 2013, McLaren had to pay for Mercedes engines.[119] The team's car for the season, theMP4-28, was launched on 31 January 2013.[120] The car struggled to compete with the other top teams and the season had McLaren fail to produce a podium finish for the first time since1980.[121]
Kevin Magnussen replaced Pérez for2014, and Ron Dennis, who had remained at arm's length since stepping down from the team principal role, returned as CEO of the operation.[121] McLaren was the first team to officially launch their 2014 car, theMP4-29, which was revealed on 24 January 2014.[121] They had a largely unsuccessful 2014; their best result was inAustralia where – afterDaniel Ricciardo's disqualification from second place – Magnussen finished second and Button third. Button subsequently finished fourth inCanada,Britain, andRussia. Their highest grid position was in Britain with Button's third place on the grid.[122]
Alonso (no.14) and Button (no.22) line astern at the2015 Malaysian Grand Prix. The 2015 season was McLaren's first since 1991 to use Honda engines, but their performance was lacking and their reliability poor as the team finished ninth in the Constructors' Championship.Fernando Alonso during qualifying for the2016 Malaysian Grand Prix
For2015, McLaren ended their engine deal with Mercedes which included buying back the 40% stake that Mercedes held in the team and reforging their historical partnership with Honda. The Honda deal not only meant they would supply engines, but that Honda staff would work with the team at their Woking base as well as received full-factory support from Honda including official team vehicles and free engines. The team announced Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button as their race drivers, with Kevin Magnussen demoted to test driver. During pre-season testing at theCircuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in February, Alonso suffered a concussion and, as a result,Kevin Magnussen replaced him for the season-openingAustralian Grand Prix in March. At that inaugural race of the season, Jenson Button finished 11th, but was lapped twice and finished last of the finishing cars.[123] Following considerable unreliability and initial suggestions that the Honda engine was underpowered relative to its competitors, steady performance gains eventually resulted in Button managing to score the team's first (four) points of the season at the sixth round inMonaco.[124] By contrast, Alonso scored his first point three races later at theBritish Grand Prix.[125]
TheHungarian Grand Prix saw the team score their best result of the season with Alonso and Button finishing fifth and ninth, respectively.[126][127] However, McLaren did not score points in the next four races until Button finished ninth at theRussian Grand Prix. At the followingUnited States Grand Prix, Button scored his best result of the season with sixth place. The team finished ninth in the constructors' standings with 27 points, McLaren's worst performance since 1980.
McLaren retained the Alonso - Button pairing for the2016 season. The second year of the Honda partnership was better than the first, with the team being able to challenge for top 10 positions on a more regular basis. However, the season started with a massive crash at theAustralian Grand Prix in whichFernando Alonso sustained rib fractures and acollapsed lung after colliding withEsteban Gutiérrez and somersaulting into the crash barriers. Alonso, as a result of his injuries, was forced to miss the second round of the Championship, theBahrain Grand Prix, and was replaced by reserve driverStoffel Vandoorne. Vandoorne produced an impressive performance in his first race to score the team's first point of the season with 10th place. The next points for McLaren came at theRussian Grand Prix with Alonso and Button finishing sixth and 10th respectively. The rain-affectedMonaco Grand Prix was one of best races of the season for the team. Alonso finished fifth, having keptNico Rosberg's Mercedes behind him for 46 laps, while Button scored two points with ninth. At theAustrian Grand Prix, Button recorded his best result of the season with a sixth-place after qualifying third in a wet/dry session. After a disappointing display at their home race, theBritish Grand Prix at Silverstone, the team scored points at the next three rounds with six points in Hungary, four in Germany, and six points again thanks to an impressive seventh-place finish from Alonso at theBelgian Grand Prix. At theUnited States Grand Prix, McLaren matched their Monaco result with 12 points after an attacking race from Alonso saw him claim fifth position while Button once again finished ninth. After a season of significant progress compared to 2015, Alonso and Button finished the championship in 10th and 15th places respectively with the team ending the season in sixth place in the Constructors' Championship with 76 points. On 3 September 2016,Jenson Button announced he would take a sabbatical from Formula One for the 2017 season. He then confirmed on 25 November that he would retire from F1 altogether with Vandoorne being Alonso's new Teammate for 2017.
In February 2017, McLaren signedLando Norris to their Young Driver Programme.[128]
Alonso did not take part in the2017 Monaco Grand Prix as he was participating in theIndianapolis 500, being replaced by Jenson Button.[129] Button retired from the race on lap 57 after suffering terminal damage, having hit the Sauber of Pascal Wehrlein. McLaren finished 2017 9th with 30 points in total.
McLaren announced during the2017 Singapore Grand Prix weekend that they would split from engine supplier Honda at the end of the 2017 season and had agreed on a three-year customer deal to be supplied withMecachrome-assembledRenault engines.[130] Team boss Éric Boullier described their performance between 2015 and 2017 as a "proper disaster" for the team's credibility.[131]2018 was the first season in McLaren's history when their cars were powered by Renault engines. McLaren also announced that Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne would remain with the team for the2018 season.[132][133] On 6 November 2017, the team announced that Lando Norris would be the team's test and reserve driver.[134]
At the season-openingAustralian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso scored the team's best finish since the2016 Monaco Grand Prix with fifth, Alonso said that the team's target would be Red Bull Racing.[135] McLaren had a relatively good start to the season with points finishes in the next four races, but in the next 16 races after Spain, McLaren only scored 22 points, 8 points less than in the same period in 2017. On 14 August 2018, Fernando Alonso announced he would not compete in Formula One in 2019, ending his four-year spell at the team.[136]Carlos Sainz Jr. was signed as his replacement on a multi-year deal.[137] On 3 September 2018, it was announced thatStoffel Vandoorne would be leaving the team at the end of the season, withLando Norris being promoted from reserve driver to replace him in 2019.[138] McLaren struggled with performance throughout the season, with the McLaren drivers being knocked out 21 times in the first qualifying session, and McLaren having the second-worst average qualifying ranking of any team, only ahead ofWilliams.[139] The team finished the disappointing season – after being helped by the exclusion ofForce India's points from the first 12 races – in 6th place with 62 points, 357 points behind their target, Red Bull Racing, with the same engine.
The2019 season was much more positive for McLaren, with the team securely establishing themselves as the best constructor behind Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull. At theBrazilian Grand Prix, Sainz recorded the team's first podium since the2014 Australian Grand Prix, finishing fourth on the road but later promoted to third after Lewis Hamilton received a post-race penalty, meaning that the team missed out on the official podium ceremony.[140] McLaren ended the season in 4th place with 145 points, their best result since 2014 and 54 points ahead of their nearest competitor, Renault.
McLaren retained Norris and Sainz for the2020 season.[141] The season was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The season was shortened to 18 races, with the season opener to take place inAustria.[142] At theAustrian Grand Prix, Norris achieved his first ever podium,[143] finishing in third.[144] Sainz achieved the team's second podium in 2020 at theItalian Grand Prix, where he finished second.[145] The team finished the 2020 season third in the constructors' championship with 202 points.[146] Sainz finished the drivers' championship in sixth with 105 points and Norris in ninth with 97 points.[147]
McLaren again usedMercedes engines in2021 after their deal withRenault ended.[148] McLaren had previously collaborated with Mercedes from 1995 through 2014 (1995 to 2009 as a works partner and later 2010 to 2014 as a customer partner) but this time a customer role system by pay-lease agreement.[149]Daniel Ricciardo moved from Renault to partnerLando Norris for the2021 Formula One World Championship on a multi-year deal.[150] Ricciardo replacedCarlos Sainz, who moved toFerrari.[151] In the season's first nine races, the team scored three podiums with Mercedes power, inItaly,Monaco andAustria, all courtesy of Norris.
At the2021 Italian Grand Prix, Ricciardo scored his first win since the2018 Monaco Grand Prix, and McLaren's first win since the2012 Brazilian Grand Prix.[152] A second-place finish for Norris also meant that McLaren achieved their first one-two finish since the2010 Canadian Grand Prix and the only one-two finish for the 2021 season. Norris secured the team's first pole position in the hybrid era at the2021 Russian Grand Prix but was unable to convert it to a win, finishing in seventh place due to the sudden drastic change in weather conditions and team strategy in the last two laps of the race. A subsequent drop in form in the latter part of the season saw McLaren ending up fourth in the constructors' championship behind Ferrari.
For the2022 season, McLaren retained both Norris and Ricciardo.[153] Ricciardo tested positive forCOVID-19 ahead of the pre-season tests in Bahrain,[154] which meant Norris was required to do all the remaining running for the test[155] although a brake problem limited the testing he was able to conduct.[156] Both drivers struggled at the first race inBahrain, with neither driver reaching Q3 – the first time since the2020 Turkish Grand Prix – and finishing 14th and 15th in the race.[157] Norris achieved third at theEmilia Romagna Grand Prix.[158] After Norris missed the first day at the track during theSão Paulo Grand Prix weekend, McLaren suffered their first double DNF finish since Monaco 2017 as Norris had an electrical fault[159] and Ricciardo was involved in a collision withHaas' Kevin Magnussen.[160] Compared to his teammate, Ricciardo struggled and many were critical of his performance,[161] with some suggesting that McLaren would drop him.[162] This forced Ricciardo into releasing a statement on Instagram, confirming he would stay through to 2023.[163] In August 2022, Riccardo's contract for 2023 was terminated by mutual agreement.[164]Oscar Piastri replaced Ricciardo for the 2023 season after a contract dispute withAlpine F1 Team was resolved in McLaren's favour by theFIA Contract Recognition Board.[165][166] McLaren finished the season in fifth place in the constructors' championship behind Alpine.
Lando Norris driving theMcLaren MCL60 at the2023 Austrian Grand Prix. After a poor start to the season, the team rethought its design direction, resulting in an uptick in the MCL60's performance by the midpoint of the season.
The2023 season celebrated the 60th anniversary of the team's founding, with the season's car named theMCL60 in commemoration.[167][168] The season started with a myriad of issues for the team,[169][170] causing them to release a public statement after theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix, announcing certain organisational changes.[b] After not scoring points in the first two races, Norris and Piastri finished the chaoticAustralian Grand Prix in sixth and eighth place respectively, with Piastri scoring his first points in Formula One and for McLaren.[174] During the midpoint of the season, McLaren's trajectory began to increase with upgrades being introduced at theAustrian[175] andSingapore Grands Prix. The upgrades were an immediate success, and McLaren attained its first podium with Norris since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. Piastri achieved his first career podium at theJapanese Grand Prix[176] and won theQatar Grand Prix sprint race, marking McLaren's first sprint race victory in Formula One; the main race saw a record be broken for the fastest pit stop in Formula One, setting a pit stop time of 1.80 seconds, 0.02 quicker than the previous record set by Red Bull Racing in the2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.[177] During theAbu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, McLaren signed an extension to use Mercedes engines until 2030.[10] After a disastrous start to the season, McLaren took fourth place in the Constructors' Championship, with Norris taking sixth and Piastri taking ninth in the drivers' championship.
Lando Norris driving theMcLaren MCL38 at the2024 Dutch Grand Prix. An evolution of the accomplished MCL60, the MCL38 scored consistent results after a mid-season upgrade, propelling them into championship contention and subsequent Constructors' Championship victory.
The success of the MCL60 provided McLaren, who finished the 2023 season in fourth, allowing for more testing time,[178] numerous opportunities to capitalise in performance for the2024 season. Retaining Norris and Piastri, the team hiredDavid Sanchez fromScuderia Ferrari to lead development[179] alongsidePeter Prodromou andNeil Houldey (after a restructuring,Rob Marshall would lead development[180]) for the 2024 car, titled theMCL38. At the start of the season, the MCL38 proved to be the third-fastest car overall behind Ferrari'sSF-24. The SF-24 had superior tyre management, but the MCL38 excelled in qualifying.[181] McLaren revealed a substantial upgrade package that would be utilised for theMiami Grand Prix. The upgrade's success would be confirmed after Norris took the lead from Verstappen and went on to win the race, marking his maiden Formula One career victory.[182][183] McLaren expected the upgrades to improve the car's performance across all conditions;[184][185][186] the upgrade was much more successful than expected, to the point the team needed to investigate it.[187][188] By theBritish Grand Prix, the MCL38 had been established as the fastest car.[189] One of these successes included a 1-2 finish at theHungarian Grand Prix, McLaren's first since the2021 Italian Grand Prix. A mid-season upgrade introduced for theDutch Grand Prix further improved performance,[190] with Norris winning by over 27 seconds ahead of second-placed Verstappen.[191] Piastri's triumph at theAzerbaijan Grand Prix moved McLaren up to first in theWorld Constructors' Championship. This was the first time since2014 that McLaren had led the WCC.[192] In Abu Dhabi, Norris finished in first to win McLaren's first World Constructors' Championship since 1998.[193]
Oscar Piastri driving theMcLaren MCL39 at the2025 Japanese Grand Prix. An improvement on the successful MCL38, the MCL39, as of the2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix, has taken consistent podiums and won fourteen of the twenty-two races it has competed in thus far, giving the team enough momentum to secure their tenth Constructors' Championship, and second in a row.
With McLaren winning the WCC the previous season, they were allocated less testing time in2025, and were deemed the favourites to defend the Constructors' Championship.[194][195] TheMCL39 was the first McLaren car to be fully overseen by Rob Marshall, and it exhibited numerous technical improvements over its predecessor. The MCL39 showed an immediate advantage over the rest of the field; as of the2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren has won fourteen out of twenty-two races thus far in 2025, with Norris and Piastri both sharing seven wins each - including seven 1-2 finishes - and scored podiums in all possible races, bar three: theCanadian,Azerbaijan, andLas Vegas Grands Prix. Despite an uptick in pace fromRed Bull, McLaren was able to secure their tenth championship at theSingapore Grand Prix, becoming the most-successful Formula Oneindependent constructor of all time to date. Amidst the team's dominance in winning the Constructors' Championship, a battle for the Drivers' Championship between Norris and Piastri began: Norris led the early stages of the championship before Piastri took the lead after capitalising on Norris' mistake in qualifying for theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix. As the season drew to a close, Piastri experienced a downturn in form, which also coincided with two crashes at the Azerbaijan andSão Paulo Grands Prix. Norris and Red Bull'sMax Verstappen took advantage of this, with the former in particular recovering from a gap as high as 34 points after theDutch Grand Prix to eventually retake the lead of the Drivers' Championship by one point by winning theMexico City Grand Prix. Norris and Piastri were both disqualified from theLas Vegas Grand Prix due to a plank wear infringement, marking the first time both McLaren drivers were disqualified in one Grand Prix.[196]
The McLaren M1Asports car of 1964 was the team's first self-designed car. The 'B' version raced inCan-Am in the1966 season.
McLaren's first racing car designed and built "from the rubber up" by Bruce McLaren Motor Racing was the M1. The car with a small block Oldsmobile had immediate success driven by Bruce McLaren. The car was raced in North America and Europe in 1964 in various A sports and United States Road Racing Championship events. In 1965 the team car was the M1A prototype from which the production Elva M1As were based. In late 1965, the M1B (also known as Mk2) was the team car for the North American races at the end of the year. For the Can-Am Series, which started in 1966, McLaren created the M3 which Bruce andChris Amon drove – customer cars also appeared in several races in the1966 season. With the M3, they led two races but scored no wins, and the inaugural title was taken by John Surtees in a Lola T70. The following year, Robin Herd purpose-designed theChevrolet V8-poweredM6A, 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 of six races and Bruce won the championship, setting the pattern for the next four years. In the1968 season, 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. In the1969 season, McLaren domination became total as they won all 11 races with the M8B; Hulme won five, and Bruce won six and the Drivers' Championship.[28] From 1969 onwards, McLaren M12 – the customer "variant" of the M8 – was driven by several entrants, including a version modified by Jim Hall of Chaparral fame. 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.[28][197]
Bruce McLaren was killed testing a McLaren M8D atGoodwood in 1970.
When Bruce was killed testing the1970 season's M8D, he was at first replaced byDan Gurney, then later byPeter Gethin. They won two and one races, respectively, while Hulme won six on the way to the championship. Private teams competing in the 1970 Can-Am series included older M3Bs as well as the M12 – the customer version of the team's M8B. In the1971 season, the team held off the challenge of 1969 world championJackie Stewart in theLola T260, winning eight races, with Peter Revson taking the title. Hulme also won three Can-Am races in the1972 season, but theMcLaren M20 was defeated by thePorsche 917/10s ofMark Donohue andGeorge Follmer. Faced by the greater resources of Porsche, McLaren decided to abandon Can-Am at the end of 1972 and focus solely onopen-wheel racing.[28] When the original Can-Am series ceased at the end of the1974 season, McLaren was by far the most successful constructor with 43 wins.[198]
McLaren first contested theUnited States Auto Club's (USAC) Indianapolis 500 race in1970, encouraged by their tyre supplierGoodyear, which wanted to break competitorFirestone'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 andCarl 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.[199] 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 in1972, Donohue won inprivateerTeam Penske's M16B.[200] The1973 event hadJohnny Rutherford join the team; he qualified on pole, but finished ninth, Revson crashed out.[201] McLaren won their first Indianapolis 500 in1974 with Rutherford. The McLaren and Rutherford combination was second in1975 and won again in1976.[202] Developments of the M16 had been used throughout this period until the new M24 car was introduced in 1977. The team did not reproduce their recent success at Indianapolis in1977,1978, or1979, and although they continued to win other USAC races, by the end of 1979, they decided to end their involvement in order to concentrate on their Formula One programme.[203]
The car backed by McLaren at the2017 Indianapolis 500, which was driven by Fernando Alonso
On 12 April 2017, McLaren revealed they would participate in the2017 Indianapolis 500 with their current Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso at the wheel of a Honda-powered McLaren-brandedAndretti Autosport IndyCar.[204]In qualifying, Alonso secured a second-row start from fifth.[205] During the race Alonso led 27 laps in his first Indy 500 start. With 21 laps remaining Alonso was running seventh when his Honda engine failed.[206] He was classified 24th. After his retirement he received a standing ovation from the grandstands.[207] Alonso was praised for his strong debut.[208][209]
On 10 November 2018, McLaren announced that they would participate in the2019 Indianapolis 500 with Fernando Alonso and usingChevrolet engines.[210][211] However, after mechanical difficulties and a severe crash in practice, the team failed to qualify for the race.[212]
In August 2019, it was announced McLaren would contest the championship full-time in2020, collaborating withArrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports[213] to form Arrow McLaren SP.
Zak Brown stated in an interview withLeigh Diffey that McLaren joining the IndyCar Series full time was spurred by two different objectives. The first was to market the McLaren brand and some of the McLaren Formula One team's prominent American based sponsors in a primarily North America centric racing series, as Formula One only had three races in North America in2021 and only one of those races was in the United States. The second was to branch McLaren's engineering expertise into a racing series that the other Formula One teams were not involved in, as Brown thought McLaren would stand out more amongst its competitors in IndyCar than it would in other racing series. Brown also stated that McLaren chose to partner with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports because their previous efforts fielding their team with assistance from Andretti Autosport and Carlin exclusively for the Indianapolis 500 had not been successful and that the purchase of the IndyCar Series byPenske Entertainment gave McLaren more confidence in the long term viability and stability of the series compared to the previous ownership underTony George.[214]
In August 2021, it was announced that McLaren Racing will acquire a majority stake in the IndyCar Team. The transaction closed by the end of the year and saw McLaren Racing take a 75% share of the team. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.[215]
For the2022 IndyCar Series, the team's first under McLaren ownership, both O'Ward and Rosenqvist would return to the team as full time entries. The No. 6 car would again return on a part-time basis for theGMR Grand Prix and the2022 Indianapolis 500 driven by Juan Pablo Montoya.[216] O'Ward and Rosenqvist would finish second and fourth in the Indianapolis 500 respectively, the team's best finish at Indianapolis to date. The team announced they had signedAlexander Rossi to drive a third full time car from 2023 and beyond.[217]
In June 2021, McLaren announced it would enterExtreme E in the2022 season using existing personnel from outside the Formula One program[226][227] withTanner Foust andEmma Gilmour (who becomes the first woman factory driver for McLaren) as drivers for the team.[228] Entering asMcLaren XE, the team was rebranded for their second race asNEOM McLaren Extreme E Team for sponsorship reasons.[225] The team won its first podium by finishing second in theEnergy X-Prix. In the process, Gilmour became the first woman podium winner for McLaren.[229][230] The team finished in fifth place in the Team's Championship standings.
McLaren retained Foust and Gilmour for the2023 season.[231] The team won its second podium by finishing second in Round 4 at theHydro X-Prix.[232] In Round 7 at theIsland X-Prix II, Gilmour suffered a fractured rib and a concussion following a crash during the first free practice session and was ruled out for the rest of the weekend. She was replaced by Extreme E's championship reserve driverTamara Molinaro for Rounds 7 and 8.[233] McLaren withdrew from Round 8 due to the spare car being too heavily damaged in Round 7's redemption race after Molinaro collided withJBXE'sHedda Hosås on the run down to the first jump at the start of the race and rolled the car. This is the first instance of a team withdrawing from a race in Extreme E.[234][235] For the final two rounds of the season, McLaren announced that Gilmour was still recovering from her injuries and was replaced by Hosås.[236] McLaren finished in eighth place in the Team's Championship standings. At the end of the season, McLaren announced that Foust and Gilmour will leave the team.[237]
For the2024 season, McLaren announced a new driver pairing ofCristina Gutiérrez andMattias Ekström, who moved fromX44 andSainz XE Team respectively.[238] The team won its first podium of the season by finishing second in Round 1 at theDesert X-Prix.[239] On 6 September, a week before the scheduled Island X-Prix, Extreme E announced that the rounds in Sardinia and Phoenix were cancelled as the series transition to Extreme H for 2025.[240][241]
In December 2020, Zak Brown announced McLaren's interest in enteringFormula E once the company's battery supplier contract has expired.[242] In January the following year, McLaren signed an option to enter the championship for 2022.[243]
In May 2022, McLaren announced the acquisition of theMercedes-EQ Formula E Team and debuted in the2022–23 season asNEOM McLaren Formula E Team usingNissan's EV powertrain.[244][245]René Rast, who last raced in the2020–21 season withAudi Sport ABT Schaeffler, andJake Hughes were signed as drivers for the team.[246][247] McLaren made its ePrix debut at the2023 Mexico City ePrix. Hughes qualified in third and finished the race in fifth place whereas Rast qualified in fifteenth but retired from the race on lap 40 after colliding withMahindra'sOliver Rowland.[248][249][250] McLaren achieved several milestones at theDiriyah ePrix. In thefirst round, Hughes qualified at second place (missing out on pole position by 0.060s) but finished in eighth whereas Rast qualified and finished in fifth place while scoring McLaren's first fastest lap in Formula E.[251][252] In thesecond round, Hughes secured McLaren's maiden pole position in Formula E and Rast qualified in third place.[253] Hughes finished the race in fifth and Rast finished in third place, giving McLaren their maiden podium finish in Formula E.[254] Hughes qualified in second at theMonaco ePrix but was later promoted to pole position afterNissan'sSacha Fenestraz was stripped of his pole position for exceeding his power limit in his final run.[255] Hughes finished the race in fifth place whereas Rast finished in seventeenth after suffering from multiple collisions.[256] McLaren finished the season in eighth in the Teams' Championship.
At the season openingSão Paulo ePrix, Barnard won his maiden podium by finishing in third while also becoming theyoungest podium finisher at the age of 20 years and 189 days whereas Bird finished in fourth.[268][269] Barnard followed up with another podium finish by coming in third atRace 1 of theJeddah ePrix.[270] AtRace 2, he scored his first pole position, becoming theyoungest polesitter at the age of 20 years 259 days[271] but failed to convert it to a win, finishing the race in second.[272] In April 2025, McLaren announced that they will exit Formula E at the end of the 2024–25 season to focus on development for the World Endurance Championship.[273][274] It was later reported that the team will be closed down after McLaren failed to find a buyer and the team entry will be returned to Formula E.[275] McLaren finished their final Formula E race atRace 2 of theLondon ePrix with a double DNF. McLaren ended the season in sixth in the Teams' Championship whereas Barnard ended his debut season in fourth in the Drivers' Championship, the highest for a McLaren driver.
In 2021, McLaren reviewed theLMH/LMDh and GTP regulations for a possible entry into theFIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar andIMSAWeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP classes respectively in the future.[276][277][278] On 19 June 2024, CEO Zak Brown announced that McLaren is planning a Hypercar class entry with the LMDh regulations by the 2027 season.[279][280] On 10 April 2025, McLaren announced that they will enter WEC in the Hypercar class utilizing the LMDh formula regulations starting from the2027 season onwards.[281][282] McLaren will collaborate with Brown'sUnited Autosports and enter the season asMcLaren United AS with James Barclay as team principal. McLaren United will also partner withDallara as the chassis partner.[283]
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,[284]hillclimbing,[285]Formula 5000[286] and sports racing cars[287] that were sold to customers. Lacking the capacity to build the desired numbers,Trojan wassubcontracted to construct some of them.[284][286][287] 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 was McLarens at some races. AuthorMark Hughes says, "over 220" McLarens were built by Trojan.[28] In USAC competition and Formula One, too, many teams used McLarens during the late 1960s and 1970s.[288] A 1972 M8F was rebuilt as theC8 for use inGroup C racing in 1982, but had little success.[289]
In the mid-1990s, McLaren Racing's sister company,McLaren Cars (now McLaren Automotive) built a racing version of theirF1 road car, theF1 GTR which won the1995 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 1995 and 1996BPR Global GT Series.[290] In 2011, aGT3 version of theMP4-12C road car was developed in partnership with CRS Racing, making its competitive debut at theVLN andADAC GT Masters in 2012.[291] The MP4-12C was succeeded by theMcLaren 650S and then theMcLaren 720S for GT3 racing, while a GT4 version of the McLaren 570S was also developed as well.
In 2022, McLaren Automotive announced a new GT4 model based on theMcLaren Artura,[292] along with an unrestricted version named the Artura Trophy, which is to be used in McLaren's planned one-make series.[293]
McLaren Racing is majority owned by theMcLaren Group, having sold 15% of the team to American investors MSP Sports Capital in 2020, rising to a 33% stake in 2022.[298] The team had previously been wholly owned by the Group since its inception.
After Bruce McLaren died in a testing accident in 1970,Teddy Mayer took over the team. 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. Dennis offeredMansour Ojjeh the chance to purchase 50% of the team in 1983, with McLaren becoming a joint venture with Ojjeh'sTAG Group. In 2000, after supplying engines to the team through itsMercedes subsidiary for 5 years,DaimlerChrysler (nowDaimler AG) exercised an option to buy 40% of the TAG McLaren Group.[299] Dennis and Ojjeh each retained a 30% share,[300] and each sold half of their stake to theMumtalakat Holding Company (thesovereign wealth fund of theKingdom of Bahrain) in 2007.[301] Although Daimler were reportedly considering acquiring the remaining 60% from Dennis and Ojjeh, they instead boughtBrawn GP (renaming itMercedes GP) in November 2009;[302] their McLaren shares were sold back to Mumtalakat, Dennis, and Ojjeh in 2010.[303]
Dennis stepped down as both CEO and team principal of McLaren in 2009, handing both roles over to Martin Whitmarsh.[304][305] However, following the uncompetitive 2013 season, Dennis retook the role in January 2014;[306] Whitmarsh formally left the team later that year.[307] Dennis sought to take a controlling interest in the company, but his relationship with Ojjeh had deteriorated, perhaps as early as 2013.[308][309] In 2016, Dennis was forced out of his role as CEO by Ojjeh.[310] He sold his remaining shares in the company the next year.[311]
After Dennis' 2014 return, he had abolished the position of team principal at McLaren, saying it was an 'outdated' position.[312]Éric Boullier was instead named racing director in January 2014, becoming responsible for the F1 team.[313] After Dennis' exit,Zak Brown was chosen for the post of Group executive director, with the positions of Group CEO and Racing CEO both being left vacant.[314] While his position was formally within the wider McLaren Group, it was understood that his role would focus only on the F1 team. The increasing awareness of the mediocrity of the car prompted a reshuffle in 2018: Brown was appointed McLaren Racing CEO in April, and when Boullier resigned in July, his position was divided betweenGil de Ferran as sporting director andAndrea Stella as performance director.[315] In May 2019,Andreas Seidl was appointed as the new team principal.[316] In December 2022, Seidl left McLaren to joinSauber as CEO with Stella promoted to team principal.[317][318]
Since 2004 the team has been based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England.[319] Facilities there include a wind tunnel and a driving simulator which is said to be the most sophisticated in the sport.[320] The team also created theMcLaren Driver Development Programme, which currently has eight drivers signed to it as of July 2024.[321][322]
McLaren has had an uneasy relationship with Formula One's governing body, the FIA, and its predecessor FISA, as well as with the commercial rights holders of the sport. McLaren was involved, along with the other teams of theFormula One Constructors Association (FOCA), in a dispute with FISA and Alfa Romeo, Renault, and Ferrari over control of the sport in the early 1980s. During this dispute, known as theFISA-FOCA war,a breakaway series was threatened, FISA refused to sanctionone race, and FOCAboycotted another. It was eventually resolved by a revenue-sharing deal called theConcorde Agreement.[323][324][325]
Subsequent Concorde Agreements were signed in 1987 and 1992, but in 1996, McLaren was again one of the teams which disputed the terms of a new agreement, this time with former FOCA presidentBernie Ecclestone'sFormula One Promotions and Administration organisation; a new 10-year agreement was eventually signed in 1998.[326] Similar arguments restarted in the mid-2000s, with McLaren and their part-owner Mercedes again threatening to start a rival series, before another Concorde Agreement was signed in 2009.[327] In 2007, McLaren were involved in anespionage controversy after their chief designerMike Coughlan obtained confidential technical information from Ferrari. McLaren was excluded from the Constructors' Championship for one year, and the team was fined US$100 million.[106][328] Although the terms of the most recent agreements, in 2013 and 2021, have been extensively negotiated on, McLaren have not taken as openly hostile a stance as in the past.
McLaren's Formula One team was sponsored for 23 years byPhilip Morris'sMarlboro cigarette brand.
In1968, theRoyal Automobile Club and the FIA relaxed the rules regarding commercial sponsorship of Formula One cars. In1972,Yardley London, a cosmetics company, became McLaren's first title sponsor and the team raced as Yardley Team McLaren.[329][330] As a result, the livery was changed to a predominantly white one to reflect the sponsor's colours.[331] In1974,Philip Morris was signed as title sponsor through theirMarlboro cigarette brand although one car continued to run-ostensibly by a separate team-with Yardley livery for the year.[330] Marlboro's red-and-white branding lasted until1996, during which time the team went by the many variants of the Marlboro McLaren name. This partnership was the then longest-running Formula One sponsorship which has since been surpassed byHugo Boss' sponsorship of the team, which ran from1981 to2014. The McLaren–Marlboro title sponsorship deal is still the longest-running in Formula One.[332][333][334][335]
In1997, Philip Morris moved its Marlboro sponsorship to Ferrari and was replaced byReemtsma'sWest cigarette brand, with the team racing as West McLaren Mercedes.[336] As a result, McLaren adopted a silver and black livery. By mid-2005, aEuropean Union directive bannedtobacco advertising in sport, which forced McLaren to end its association with West.[337] In2006, the team competed without a title sponsor, entering under the name Team McLaren Mercedes. McLaren altered their livery to introduce red into the design, and changed the silver to chrome. In2007, McLaren signed a seven-year contract with telecommunications companyVodafone and competed as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.[338] The arrangement was due to last until2014, although the team announced at the2013 Australian Grand Prix that their partnership would conclude at the end of the 2013 season.[339] Despite explaining the decision to conclude the sponsorship as being a result of Vodafone's desire to reconsider its commercial opportunities, it was later reported that the decision to run the2012 Bahrain Grand Prix despite anongoing civil uprising andprotests against the race, and Vodafone's inability to remove their logos from the McLaren cars during the race as being a key factor in the decision to terminate the sponsorship.[340]Diageo-owned whisky brand Johnnie Walker, an associate sponsor since 2005, offered to take over as title sponsor at the end of 2013, but their offer of £43 million was turned down by Ron Dennis, who believed it to be "too small."[341]
In 2015, McLaren was still without a title sponsor and was set to lose a further £20 million in sponsorship in 2016.[341] Between2015 and2017, the team competed as McLaren Honda due to their engine partnership with Honda.[342] After splitting with Honda, the team competed as McLaren Formula 1 Team from2018 onwards. CEO Zak Brown has said that he will not be selling the name of the team to a title sponsor to keep the team's name intact and will be looking for major sponsors instead, which will give brands increased branding position on the car.[343][344] The major sponsors signed since2019 areBritish American Tobacco through its A Better Tomorrow campaign (later extended to the IndyCar and Formula E teams);[345][346][347][348] former long time sponsorGulf Oil International (also includes Gulf Oil being the preferred lubricant supplier toMcLaren Automotive);[349][350]Google (also extended to the Extreme E team);[351][352]OKX (later extended to the McLaren Shadow esports team);[353][354] andMastercard.[355]
McLaren’s title sponsor position shifted in August 2025 when the team announced a deal with Mastercard reportedly worth $100 million per season and running to the mid-2030s. The team will compete as McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team from the2026 season onwards.[356][357] Zak Brown added that the livery will "stay recognisable" despite the title sponsorship.[358]
Since 2021, McLaren has used special liveries on their cars in collaboration with their sponsors and to commemorate certain occasions.
In the team'sdebut race in 1966, it ran white-and-green coloured cars, which came about as a result of a deal with the makers of the filmGrand Prix.[359] Between1968 and1971, the team used an orange design, dubbed the papaya orange, which was also applied to cars competing in the Indianapolis 500 and Can-Am series, and was used as an interim testing livery in later years.[359][360][361] Between 1972 to 2013, McLaren's livery colours reflected the colours of the title sponsors. Since 2017, McLaren returned to its traditional papaya orange colours, which was also used on their cars entered in other racing series such as Extreme E and Formula E.
McLaren have a team tradition where they would run the same design the season after a championship win. This was seen with theMCL39 in2025, which saw minimal changes from theprevious year's car that won McLaren's first Constructors' Championship in 26 years. The team also would not change the livery substantially during a period of sustained success.[362]
In2021, as part of McLaren's Gulf Oil sponsorship, the team rolled out a special one-off "heritage" Gulf livery for theMonaco Grand Prix,[363] which then began a trend of one-off special liveries in Formula One.[364]Vuse also partnered with McLaren to race bespoke liveries designed by emerging artists for the 2021 to 2023 Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.[365][366][367] McLaren's other sponsors such as OKX,[368][369]Google Chrome[370] andJack Daniel's[371] later partnered with the team to race special liveries.
As part of McLaren's 60th-anniversary celebration during the2023 season, the team revealed a special livery for theMonaco andSpanish Grands Prix to celebrate theirTriple Crown achievement. The Triple Crown livery is the amalgamation of the liveries of the three winning McLaren cars that forms the Triple Crown – the papaya of theM16C/D that won the1974 Indianapolis 500 at the rear, the white of theMP4/2 that won the1984 Monaco Grand Prix at the middle, and the black of theF1 GTR that won the1995 24 Hours of Le Mans at the front of theMCL60.[372][373]McLaren's IndyCar Series sister team also raced their version of the Triple Crown livery for theIndianapolis 500, with the liveries of the Nos. 7, 6 and 5 painted as the M16C/D, MP4/2, and F1 GTR respectively.[219]
McLaren's cars were originally named with the letter M followed by a number, sometimes also followed by a letter denoting the model.[374] After the 1981 merger with Project Four, the cars were called "MP4/x", or since 2001 "MP4-x",[375] where x is the generation of the chassis (e.g.MP4/1,MP4-22). "MP4" stood initially for "Marlboro Project 4",[376] 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" was said to stand for "McLaren Project 4".[377] From 2017, following Ron Dennis' departure from the team, the naming scheme of the cars changed to "MCL" followed by a number.[378] The only deviation to the numbering scheme was 2023'sMCL60, which was named for the team's 60th anniversary.[167][168]
As a constructor, McLaren has entered numerous race cars designed in-house into racing events, most prominentlyFormula One. As of 2025, the only exceptions to this are theArrow McLarenIndyCar team, who runDallara-built chassis (initially theIR-12, which was supplemented by theIR-18), McLaren'sExtreme E team, who ran theSpark Odyssey 21, and theirFormula E operation, who ranFormula E Gen3 withNissan's powertrain.
Currently, McLaren builds onlyFormula One cars; the most successful McLaren Formula One car is theMcLaren MP4/4 of1988, also one of the most successful Formula One cars of all time. The MP4/4, driven by teammatesAyrton Senna andAlain Prost, took victories and pole positions in all but one race.[379]
^Of these changes, James Key would be replaced as Technical Director[171] and replaced by a Technical Executive Team consisting of three new specialised Technical Director roles consisting of Peter Prodomou as Technical Director, Aerodynamics, David Sanchez (joining in January 2024 after his gardening leave ended) as Technical Director, Car concept and performance, and Neil Houdly, Technical Director Engineer and Design[172] who is a placeholder for Rob Marshall, who, like Sanchez, has been hired from a rival team but is on gardening leave until January 2024.[173]
^abcdefghIndividual driver numbers were not allocated at the time, as numbers differed by event.
Although World Championship races held in 1952 and 1953 were run to Formula Two regulations, constructors who only participated during this period are included herein to maintain Championship continuity. Constructors whose only participation in the World Championship was in theIndianapolis 500 races between 1950 and 1960 are not listed.
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