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This Sunday sees us compete in our 700th world championship Grand Prix and in the lead up to the race we'll be taking a look at our history through the cars that appeared at race 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700. To mark the occasion and start us off, we asked legendary F1 writer Alan Henry for his assessment of the team.
"At Sunday’s Korean Grand Prix, McLaren will reach another memorable milestone when Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button compete in the team’s 700th world championship Grands Prix - some 45-years since Bruce himself made his debut through the streets of Monte Carlo in the first of the M2B contenders. In between, there has been much in the way of cutting edge technical achievement and epic racing on the part of the organisation which now prides itself on being Britain’s leading F1 team.
"Putting together a succession of journalistic snapshots to catch the mood of McLaren’s achievement over the decades is easier said than done. Making a choice from the myriad memories becomes an intensely subjective process. But for me the moment which stands out in my mind – the day we suspected that McLaren might be something ‘different’ – was the 1968 Race of Champions at Brands Hatch where Bruce won commandingly in the spruce orange liveried M7.
"It wasn’t the fact that here was a victory for that rarest of F1 breeds – the owner driver of a fully fledged constructors’ team - but just how economically efficient and beautifully integrated the design of the M7 really was. It looked, to my eyes at least, tautly efficient in a coolly understated fashion. In a sense, the M7 set the philosophical design benchmark for all the McLaren F1 cars which followed; ‘enough and no more.’
I never knew Bruce; he was killed during the summer of 1970 only weeks after I joined the editorial staff of Motoring News. But he was, and remains, one of that handful of F1 insiders about whom nothing critical is ever said. Yet it is much to the credit of Teddy Mayer – and later Ron Dennis – that the qualities which the New Zealander brought to bear on his fledgling company have been sustained through to this very day. We live in a time in F1 which is much more hard-edged than it was when Bruce was alive. But McLaren as a team continues to garner respect in the most fundamental way possible; through its achievements on the track.
"The team has a diverse history. In 1970, not only was McLaren an emergent F1 force, but they were also taking on Indianapolis oval racing and building Can-Am sports cars. They had to wait until 1974 before the first world F1 world championship came the team’s way with Emerson Fittipaldi and the remarkably effective, functionally elegant M23, an achievement that would be repeated by James Hunt in 1976.
"Meanwhile Texan Johnny Rutherford -“Lone Star JR” – would deliver McLaren victories in the Indy 500 in 1975 and 77 while privateer Mark Donohue’s Penske McLaren won the most famous American motor race in 1972.
"The late 70s were a difficult time for the team as they dropped from the F1 high wire, seemingly bemused and befuddled by the technical intricacies of ground effect aerodynamics. The main sponsor became progressively less amused by this failure to get a grip, but eventually a takeover was brokered which would see perfectionist Ron Dennis take over at the helm. Aided initially by talented designer John Barnard, who produced F1’s first carbon-fibre composite chassis for the team in 1981, McLaren went up a gear. And never really looked back.
"Speeding through the 1980s and 90s there is a dazzling kalaidescope of trackside images which bear witness to just what McLaren has achieved. The long-lived partnership with TAG and Mansour Ojjeh; the remarkable Ayrton Senna; the hugely popular Mika Hakkinen; the loyal, stoic David Coulthard; Niki Lauda and John Watson; Honda and Mercedes-Benz as engine suppliers; the emergence of Lewis Hamilton as the team’s youngest ever protege. The resilient and gifted Jenson Button; so the list seems endless.
"So what is the underlying message we can discern from all this high octane achievement? Firstly, that McLaren are almost always there, at or near the front, pushing, pressing, chivvying away to discover and capitalise on the slightest technical advantage. Secondly, their standards of presentation, whether in pure engineering terms, or the way in which they tackle the fog of war operating on the track or in the pit lane, are always immaculate.
"It’s been a pleasure watching from the touchlines this past 40 years!"
* Official photo and details courtesy of VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES *
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
JENSON BUTTON
- MP4-26A-04
- Started: 2nd
- Finished: 1st
- Fastest lap: 1m36.568s (1st)
- Pitstops: Three: laps 10, 20 and 36 (Op-Op-Op-Pr)
- 2011 points: 210 (2nd)“This was a hard race – the last five or six laps were extremely tough, I had to really look after the tyres and try to save a bit of fuel to get the car home, but it was an amazing victory.
“Sebastian [Vettel] came across at me on the start – he kept coming and didn’t stop, so I got on the grass and had to back out of the throttle, otherwise there would’ve been an almighty shunt into Turn One. He said he didn’t see me until he saw me backing out, so that lost me a place.
“But fighting back was so, so satisfying: the performance has been in the car all weekend. It’s such an emotional victory for me: there’s so much history at this circuit, and the crowd here has been amazing, this is second only to a home victory for me.
“I want to thank every single person here in Japan who’s supported us – hopefully we’ve planted a happy memory in their minds, because a lot of Japan has been through difficult times this year. We did our best and we put on a fantastic show.
“Seb has done a great job all season and he deserved the title. He was given the equipment and just got on and did what was required of him. But, for us, there’s still more that we can achieve this year: I’d love to go out and fight to win the next few races, and I think we have the car and the team to go and do that. We’ll keep pushing and hope to get some more wins this year, but we’re also in a very good place right now – and I think that’s key to success in 2012.”
LEWIS HAMILTON
- MP4-26A-03
- Started: 3rd
- Finished: 5th
- Fastest lap: 1m37.645s (+1.077s, 9th)
- Pitstops: Three: laps 8, 21 and 35 (Op-Op-Op-Pr)
- 2011 points: 178 (5th)
“This was a disappointing race for me, but it was a great day for Jenson and the whole team. Jenson did a remarkable job today – he really deserved this victory, but it wasn’t a great one for me. Still, I’m going to keep my head up and look ahead to the next race where I’ll hopefully have another chance.
“Clearly, our car has the pace to win, but I wasn’t able to compete today so I’ll go away and look at the data to work out how I can come back and be competitive in Korea next weekend.
“In the race, I don’t really know what happened with Felipe – the car’s mirrors vibrate at high-speed, so I couldn’t see him pulling alongside me. I want to apologise for our cars’ touching, but fortunately nothing happened to either of us. There was no bad intention towards Felipe; I’ve got the utmost respect for him, he’s a fantastic driver and he was extremely quick today.
“Finally, big congratulations to Sebastian for winning the title. We all knew it was going to happen, but his season has really been flawless. It’s a fantastic achievement for him.”
MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“Today we witnessed a great drive from Jenson. It was a fast and tough race from the very start, and Jenson, Fernando [Alonso] and Sebastian all did a fantastic job today.
“Obviously, those last few laps were extremely tense. We’ve been in the position of hunting for victory, but it’s even more nerve-wracking when you’re the car in front! It was a very tense but fantastic spectacle and Jenson didn’t put a foot wrong. He drove with extraordinary calm, so today’s victory is incredibly well deserved.
“Lewis had a more difficult afternoon. We weren’t immediately aware that Lewis appeared to suffer a slow puncture to the right-rear in the first stint. That created a growing pressure differential across the rear axle, and potentially led us to add too much front wing to compensate for the lack of balance at the rear.
“In hindsight, that may have led to Lewis fighting to find a satisfactory balance for the next two stints as we attempted to restore the set-up he’d enjoyed during the previous two days. It was a challenging afternoon for Lewis, but he never gave up, kept pushing and scored some strong points for the team. He had the pace this weekend, so I’m sure he’ll be as tough as ever in Korea next weekend.
“Finally, I would like to pass on congratulations to Sebastian from myself and the whole of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. He has driven a consistent and error-free season, and I only wish we could have delayed tonight’s party for a little while longer! But big congratulations to him nonetheless.
“For all of us at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, our ambition is undimmed: we’ll be aiming to win all the remaining races, starting with Korea next weekend.”
* Official photos and report courtesy of VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES *
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Michael Schumacher finished in sixth place at today’s Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, making up two places on his starting position, whilst Nico Rosberg came from the back row of the grid to finish in the points in 10th place.
• Michael completed a three-stop strategy this afternoon, running option/option/option/prime
• Nico also completed three stops from his P23 starting position, running prime/option/option/option
• Of 65 total pit stops today, just nine were under 21 seconds - and five of those were by MERCEDES GP PETRONAS
• In a race with only one retirement, Michael and Nico gained a total of 15 places from their grid positions
• Today´s race was the fourth consecutive Grand Prix which has featured a Safety Car deployment
Michael Schumacher
“I’m very happy with what we achieved in Suzuka today as we maximised our potential of the car, and managed to put in a good race. The team did a great job the whole weekend in finding performance and transforming it into the race. I think there was not more to expect and achieve. The pit stops were perfectly timed and everything worked out according to plan. I would like to congratulate Sebastian and his team who have been exceptional the whole year. It is extremely emotional to see him win the Championship again - I am very happy for him and even a little bit proud.”
Nico Rosberg
“I’m pleased to score a point today and had fun out there with a few nice overtaking manoeuvres. This is definitely one of the toughest tracks for overtaking so starting from the back of the grid meant that I had a pretty tough job. Before the race, I hoped to achieve between eighth and 10th places and, whilst it would have been nice to be a bit higher, it’s still a decent result. Thanks to the team for a good strategy and great pit stops today. After this complicated weekend, I hope to have a more normal weekend in Korea and fight in our usual position. And finally, Sebastian, congratulations: you deserve the title.”
Ross Brawn
“We made the absolute most of the car and opportunities we had at our disposal today. The car performed well throughout the race, our strategies were right for both cars, and the pit crew produced fantastic stops - we have performed strongly all year in the pits, and today our stops won us places, particularly for Nico during the Safety Car period when he jumped two cars. Michael and Nico both delivered great performances in the cockpit, passing cleanly when they needed to and defending strongly. Overall, I think it was a very exciting race and a fitting Grand Prix in which to crown a new World Champion. Congratulations to Sebastian and Red Bull Racing on his second World Championship - he has driven impeccably all year, and together they have set the standards we must now aim for and exceed.”
Norbert Haug
“Michael and Nico both delivered strong races this afternoon and quite competitive lap times. Michael raced and finished among the top three teams, leading laps during the pit stop cycles, and Nico drove strongly through the field into the points, as we believed he could after qualifying yesterday, even starting from P23. Compliments to our pit stop and strategy crew as well, who played a key role in our team result this afternoon. Congratulations to Jenson Button and McLaren-Mercedes on their victory over the World Champion but, most of all, we take our hats off to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing - not just for winning the title, but also for defending it with an exceptional level of performance throughout the season.”
* Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES GP PETRONAS *
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
