Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

McLaren, based at Woking, Surrey in United Kingdom, has been participating in Formula One since 1963. McLaren has been among the most successful teams in Formula 1. The team was founded in the year 1963 by Bruce McLaren, inhabitant of New Zealand. Apart from Formula One, McLaren has also competed in the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and Canadian-American Challenge Cup.

Fast Facts
Full name of the constructor team is Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen are the race drivers of McLaren. Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett are the test drivers. The team currently uses McLaren MP4-23 chassis and Mercedes-Benz FO 108V.

Success in F1
It is one of the most successful teams in Formula One, having won over 150 races, 11 Drivers' Championships and 8 Constructors' Championships. Magazine Autosport judges McLaren to have bigger, more sophisticated technical resources than any other team and a resultant higher development rate throughout a season.

The present McLaren team is the combination of Bruce McLaren racing team and Project 4 team. McLaren is the second ranked formula one team in international circuit after Ferrari.

McLaren in Formula 1
McLaren was quite impressive in 1967 when they introduced the Mk6, the first cars in McLaren orange. In the rest of the decade, its performance was mixed. In the 1970s the team had a disastrous beginning. On 2 June 1970 Bruce McLaren was killed in a car crash. In 1971, the team won eight races. In 1974, McLaren achieved their first Formula One World Constructors' and World Drivers' Championship. 1975 was a less successful year for the team. The Drivers' Championship again came McLaren's way again in 1976. In rest of years the team had poor returns.

McLaren dominated in 1980s and early 1990s. It won the Constructors' title in 1984 and 1985. Its race driver Nikki Lauda won the driver's crown in 1984. MP4/4 of McLaren-Honda won an amazing 15 of 16 races that year and leading all but 27 laps, making a record. In 1989, McLaren won both constructors' and drivers' titles. Its driver Senna Senna won the World Drivers' Championship in 1990 and 1991. McLaren also won the constructors' title in both years. Fortunes of McLaren declined in mid 1990s. Year 1996 was the end of an era for McLaren, as they parted company with long-term sponsors Marlboro. Since 2000, McLaren has been struggling to regain its place at the top of Formula One.