Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

Follow us on Google Discover

McLaren are one of the most successful Formula 1 teams of all time with 13 drivers’ and 10 constructors’ championships since Bruce McLaren founded his own team.

The Kiwi founded McLaren through the affable New Zealander’s unmanageable drive. Those who worked for and with Bruce bought into everything that he stood for having gone from a two-year battle with Perthes Disease, into club racing in Auckland and also on to Formula 1.

Bruce won his first Grand Prix at 22 years old – becoming the youngest driver at the time to achieve the feat – at the 1959 United States GP. But a passion for more continued to bubble until he founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd in 1963 and guided them into F1 in 1966.

McLaren F1 Team name

McLaren still continue to race with the name of their founder, Bruce McLaren. But the team changed name from Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd in 1972 when they took on their first title sponsor as Team McLaren. McLaren have often changed sponsor but kept their name.

McLaren F1 Team founding year

Bruce McLaren founded his team in 1963 to compete in the Australasian Tasman Series after Charles Cooper – the owner of the Cooper F1 team for whom he drove – refused to provide non-F1 specifications engines. Team McLaren made their F1 debut at the 1966 Monaco GP.

McLaren F1 Team current team principal

McLaren promoted Andrea Stella to the role of team principal in December 2022 as CEO Zak Brown responded to Andreas Seidl’s departure for Audi. Stella was the executive director of racing since 2019 following roles as their head of race operations and performance director.

Stella first joined McLaren in 2015 when the Italian arrived alongside Fernando Alonso from Ferrari. He had worked for the Scuderia since 2000 after rising the ranks in Maranello to act as Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen’s performance engineer prior to aiding Alonso.

McLaren F1 Team current drivers

McLaren employ Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri as their two Formula 1 race drivers on long-term contracts. Norris joined the Woking squad for his debut in the pinnacle of motorsport at the Australian GP in 2019. Piastri also debuted in F1 with McLaren at the Bahrain GP in 2023.

What engine do the McLaren F1 Team use?

McLaren extended the Formula 1 team’s contract with Mercedes to use power units built by the Silver Arrows’ High Performance Powertrains (HPP) division in November 2023. The deal runs through, at least, the 2030 season and includes F1’s engine regulation changes in 2026.

Mercedes supply McLaren their M17 E Performance 1.6 litre V6 turbo-hybrid power unit for the 2026 Formula 1 season. The two brands re-joined forces in 2021 after McLaren opted to use Honda power units between 2015 and 2017, plus Renault engines from 2018 until 2020.

Team lineage

McLaren’s team lineage only features one name – McLaren – having only ever been the one outfit. But the Woking squad have also broached off into other racing categories, with teams currently competing in the IndyCar Series, Formula E and Extreme E during the 2024 season.

A big part of McLaren’s history is also their past in the Can-Am Series in which the team built the first true, 100% McLaren racing car. Additionally, McLaren have also entered the Indy500 outside of contesting the full campaign and won the 500-mile race for the first time in 1972.

The success of their road car division also paved the way for McLaren to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995. The Gordon Murray-designed McLaren F1 car was never meant to race but an F1 GTR took the overall win at the fabled event around the Circuit de la Sarthe on debut.

McLaren F1 Team drivers’ championship titles

McLaren are the second-most successful constructor for taking Formula 1 drivers to the title with 13 trophies so far. Just Ferrari have won a higher number of drivers’ titles than McLaren have. Emerson Fittipaldi sealed McLaren’s first drivers’ championship in 1974 for his second.

1974 – Emerson Fittipaldi (55 points)

1976 – James Hunt (69 points)

1984 – Niki Lauda (72 points)

1985 – Alain Prost (73 points)

1986 – Alain Prost (72 points)

1988 – Ayrton Senna (90 points)

1989 – Alain Prost (76 points)

1990 – Ayrton Senna (78 points)

1991 – Ayrton Senna (96 points)

1998 – Mika Hakkinen (100 points)

1999 – Mika Hakkinen (76 points)

2008 – Lewis Hamilton (98 points)

2025 – Lando Norris (423 points)

McLaren F1 Team constructors’ championship titles

McLaren are among the most successful constructors in Formula 1’s history with eight titles to date. The Woking team took their first title in 1974 when only the best driver’s result from certain races across a defined period counted in the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers.

1974 (73 points) – Emerson Fittipaldi (55 points), Denny Hulme (32 points), Mike Hailwood (12 points), David Hobbs (0 points), Jochen Mass (0 points)

1984 (143.5 points) – Niki Lauda (72 points), Alain Prost (71.5 points)

1985 (90 points) – Alain Prost (76 points), Niki Lauda (14 points), John Watson (0 points)

1988 (199 points) – Alain Prost (105 points), Ayrton Senna (94 points)

1989 (141 points) – Alain Prost (81 points),Ayrton Senna (60 points)

1990 (121 points) – Ayrton Senna (78 points), Gerhard Berger (43 points)

1991 (139 points) – Ayrton Senna (96 points), Gerhard Berger (43 points)

1998 (156 points) – Mika Hakkinen (100 points), David Coulthard (56 points)

2024 (666 points) – Lando Norris (374 points), Oscar Piastri (292 points)

2025 (650 points) – Lando Norris (423 points), Oscar Piastri (410)

McLaren F1 Team factory base

McLaren moved into the F1 team’s factory, the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC), in 2003. Renowned British architect, Lord Norman Foster, designed the MTC with extreme attention to detail under the orders of former team principal, Ron Dennis, to deliver the masterpiece.

The MTC is an architectural wonder and state-of-the-art facility that reflects the team’s no-compromise ethos. The team also repurposed McLaren’s previous factory into a composites department in 2023. But their attention to detail to design the MTC went to extreme levels.

Dennis measured the size of the tiles McLaren intended to floor the MTC with but realised that with 3mm of grout, the builders would need to cut the tiles to fit. But McLaren resized the whole floor instead so that everything would fit neatly and that zero tiles had to be cut.

Everything in the MTC is also wheeled so the team can easily move everything around or to reconfigure their factory. The MTC also uses three vast tanks to pump water taken from the factory’s lake to heat or cool the facility. The lake also never freezes due to the recirculation.

McLaren F1 Team factory tour

McLaren currently restrict tours of the McLaren Technology Centre to partners and McLaren Plus competition winners. But fans can access a digital tour of the facilities through the MTC Google Street View application. McLaren Plus is free to sign up for and offers other bonuses.

Factory address

McLaren F1 Team: The MTC, Chertsey Road, Woking, Surrey, England, GU21 4YH

McLaren F1 Team contact details

Website: mclaren.com/racing/contact-us

General enquiries: [email protected]

Business development team: [email protected]