TEAMS F1 history-travel-photograph-f1-team McLaren Mercedes 1968 - 2011

Full Team Name: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Base: Woking, UK
Team Principal: Martin Whitmarsh
Technical Chief: Paddy Lowe
Drivers: L Hamilton
 A Button
Test Drivers: P de la Rosa
G Paffett
Chassis: MP4-26
Engine: Mercedes-Benz FOR 108Y
Tyres: Pirelli
First Season: 1966
World Championships: 8
Highest Race Finish: 1 (x174)
Pole Positions: 147
Fastest Laps: 148
2011
Unable to match Red Bull for qualifying speed in first half of season, but PROVE to be Their Closest Rivals and gradually edge ahead on race pace. Hamilton and Button go into the summer break having scored two wins apiece

2010
Car not as quick as Red Bull's, but more reliable and shines in damp conditions. Performance aided by innovative (and much copied) F-duct, the the which allows drivers to stall the rear wing at speed. Lead standings for first half of season, but ultimately finished second overall after five race wins.

2009
Tough start to season leaves Hamilton and Kovalainen struggling to score, let alone win. Hard work the MP4-24 gradually turns into a race winner, with Hamilton victorious in Hungary and Singapore, Helping the team to a well-earned third in the standings, one point above the Ferrari.

2008
Lewis Hamilton Brings Their first-team drivers 'championship since 1999, but a partnership with Heikki Kovalainen ultimately not strong enough to Wrest constructors' crown from Ferrari and They finished second, 21 points shy of the Italian team.

2007
Win eight Grands Prix, but stripped of constructors' points and fined $ 100 million for benefiting from possession of confidential Ferrari data. Intense rivalry sees team mates Hamilton and Alonso finish level on points - one shy of the drivers' title.

2006
Distant third in the championship, despite strong race pace in the second half of season. End campaign winless for first time in a decade. Kimi Raikkonen the dominant driver, Juan Pablo Montoya Departing mid-season for NASCAR.

2005
The MP4-20 proves the quickest car on the grid, but poor reliability means They narrowly miss out on constructors' title, despite 10 wins - two more than champions Renault. Kimi Raikkonen finished runner-up in drivers' championship.

2004
Worst start to a season in years with just five points from the first seven races. Stage strong recovery, including victory for Kimi Raikkonen in Belgium, to end the year fifth in the table.

2003
Third in the constructors' standings, just behind Williams. Kimi Raikkonen emerges as the team's key Contender for the drivers' championship, losing out to Michael Schumacher at the final race in Japan.

2002
Pushed down to third place in the constructors' championship, behind Ferrari and Williams. David Coulthard takes fifth place in the drivers' championship.

2000 - 2001
Both finish second in drivers 'and constructors' championships two years in a row, with Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard.

1998 - 1999
Dominate after successfully adapting to rule changes. Mika Hakkinen takes the drivers 'championship in Both seasons with McLaren taking the constructors' championship in 1998.

1988 - 1991
A period of total McLaren dominance. In 1988 Ayrton Senna takes the title from his team mate Alain Prost, with honors reversed in 1989. In 1990 Senna takes back the title and retains it in 1991.

1985 - 1986
Alain Prost takes back-to-back drivers' championships for the team.

1984
Niki Lauda joins to partner Alain Prost. The Austrian takes the drivers' championship by half a point from his French team mate.

1976
James Hunt takes the drivers' championship for the team, beating Ferrari's Niki Lauda by one point.

1970
Bruce McLaren is killed at the Goodwood circuit while testing a Can-Am sports car.
1968
Bruce McLaren wins in Belgium, giving a first Grand Prix victory to his team, WHO finish second in the constructors' championship.

1963
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd.. founded.


Joakim Bonnier (1968, 1970 to 1971)
And Gurney (1968, 1970)
John Surtees (1970)
David Hobbs (1971, 1974)
Jody Scheckter (1972 - 1973)
Emerson Fittipaldi (1974 - 1975)
Gilles Villeneuve (1977)

Nelson Piquet (1978)
John Watson (1979 - 1983, 1985)
Alain Prost (1980, 1984 to 1989)
Andrea de Cesaris (1981)
Niki Lauda (1982 - 1985)
Keke Rosberg (1986)
Stefan Johansson (1987)
Mika Hakkinen (1993 - 2001)
Nigel Mansell (1995)
Alexander Wurz (2005)
Kimi Räikkönen (2002 - 2006), in 2002
Pedro de la Rosa (2005 - 2006), in 2006
Fernando Alonso (2007)
Heikki Kovalainen (2008 - 2009), in 2008
Lewis Hamilton (2007 -), in 2007-2011 STILL UP NOW
Jenson Button (2010 -), in 2011 STILL UP NOW