McLaren | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | Info and Stats

McLaren F1 Facts

Team: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Drivers: Jenson Button - Lewis Hamilton
Engine: Mercedes FO 108X
F1 Debut: 1966 - Monaco Grand Prix

• McLaren was founded as 'Bruce McLaren Motor Racing' in 1963 by New Zealander, Bruce McLaren.
• When the team was first formed, McLaren competed in Formula One, as well as Can Am racing, and the Indianapolis 500.
• Before the days of sponsorship, all McLaren cars were painted orange. In 2006 the modern Formula One team paid tribute to this history by painting a test car in orange.
• McLaren won it's first Grand Prix in 1968 with Bruce McLaren, and it's first World Championship in 1974 with Emerson Fittipaldi.
• In 1981, Ron Dennis took over the team with the help of Marlboro who merged McLaren with 'Project Four Racing', a team owned by Dennis.
• The name of every McLaren starts with 'MP4'. This stands for Marlboro Project Four, although since Marlboro are no longer involved, some suggest the 'M' now stands for McLaren.
• Marlboro sponsored McLaren until 1997 when they switched their allegiance to Ferrari.
• Ayrton Senna is the most successful McLaren driver of all time, having taken 35 wins for the team and three World Championships.
• David Coulthard is the longest serving McLaren driver having taken part in 151 races for the team between 1996 and 2004.
• McLaren is the second most successful Grand Prix team of all time with a total of 165 Grand Prix victories. The team was number one on the all time list for a brief period in 1993-1994.
• In total, 7 drivers have won 12 championships for McLaren.
• Lewis Hamilton started with McLaren in 2007, but was part of the team's young driver program for many years beforehand.
• Jenson Button joins McLaren in 2010 which will be the first time the team has signed two most recent World Champions.