McLaren

This is the second in a series about successful F1 teams.

McLaren is one of a small group of highly successful F1 teams that dates back to the 1960's. Since their debut in 1966 at the Monaco GP, McLaren has won a staggering 8 constructors championships ('74, '84, '85, '88, '89, '90, '91, '98) and a total of 12 driver's championships ('74, '76, '84, '85, '86, '88, '89, '90, '91, 98, '99, '08). Along the way, the elite team has accumulated 182 race victories, 155 pole positions, 152 fastest laps, 47 one-two finishes, resulting in 391 podium appearances.

Founded in 1963 by F1 driver Bruce McLaren in order to run the Australian Tasman Series, the New Zealand native had already tasted victory with three F1 wins under his belt with the British F1 team Cooper. A consummate engineer, Bruce would push far beyond the envelop in the early days of F1. To watch a short video about the man, click here. For the 50th anniversary video, click here.

Fittipaldi in a MP 23

The Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi was the driver who restored McLaren as a top contender after four years of rebuilding, after the passing of the founder in a testing accident at Goodwood in 1970. A couple of years later, Britain's James Hunt won one of the tightest championships in F1 history, in an epic championship battle with Niki Lauda that has now been put on the big screen as "Rush".

Prost and Senna in 1988 

After a couple of uncompetitive years, the team bounced back by winning seven championships through the mid-80's to early 90's in what can be only categorized as in F1's greatest era. With Lauda setting the stage by winning the championship in 1984, Alain Prost followed in 1985 and 1986, and with the legendary Ayrton Senna joining team, together they won 15 out of 16 races the following  year, with Senna wining the championship by a small margin.

As the technological side of F1 racing increased in importance, so did the brain trust. With Adrian Newey making technological improvements, Mika Hakkinen won back-to-back driver's championships with McLaren in 1998 and 1999. Only in 2008 would a McLaren win the title again, this time with Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel.

For the 2015 season, two time world champion Fernando Alonso joins Jenson Button in what will be known as the season in which the all conquering partnership of McLaren-Honda, first established back in 1988, will resume. Back then the powerful MP4/4 won a staggering 15 out of 16 races!

Below the list of 30 of the most famous McLaren drivers:
- David Coulthard

Early McLaren logo

- Mikka Hakkinen
- Lewis Hamilton
- Alain Prost
- Jenson Button
- Kimi Raikkonen
- Denny Hulme
- John Watson
- Niki Lauda

- Jochen Mass
- James Hunt
- Gergard Berger
- Bruce McLaren
- Emerson Fittipaldi

Modern day logo

- Juan Pablo Montoya
- Fernando Alonso
- Martin Brundle
- Keke Rosberg
- Michael Andretti
- Mike Hailwood
- Jody Scheckter

Marlboro, main sponsor for 23 yrs

- John Surtees
- Nelson Piquet
- David Hobbs
- Nigel Mansell
- Mark Donohue
- Jacky Ickx
- Pillippe Alliot
- Derek Bell

- Gilles Villeneuve


Source: McLaren, Wikipedia
Photo/image credit: McLaren F1, own files, others are unknown.

The racing weekend that was - Wk 47

Formula 1, at Abu Dhabi:
As most had predicted, the start of the race would be crucial and would probably determine who would win the race, and with it, the 2014 championship.

A jubilant Hamilton after the race

Lewis Hamilton made a lighting fast start while pole-sitter Nico Rosberg somehow failed to keep up, allowing Hamilton to take the ever so important first corner. Though Rosberg would keep Hamilton is his sights with a 2.0 second or so gap, around the midway point of the race he would suffer reliability issues with his Mercedes. The Energy Recovery System (ERS) failed giving him all sorts of problems. It was so bad that at one point his team requested him to park the car, to which he replied he wanted to continue and finish the race. He would finish in 14th place. Though he lost the championship, he won the hearts of many with that drive!

Towards the end of the race, Felipe Massa would make a last ditch effort to reel in Hamilton, and he would have if the race were a bit longer. All in all, Lewis Hamilton drove a great race and with this win, his 11th of the season, he would become the 2014 world champion, for the second time.

Lewis on his 2nd championship: "So I've very much embraced that it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. I hope there's more of those for us. The second one many years after, it feels like it's the first. I feel like I'm having the first experience, even though it is the second, it does feel like the first."

Valtteri Bottas gave Williams their first double-podium finish (see pict to the right) of the year, even though he had a poor start of the race. Daniel Ricciardo drove a great race, starting from the pit lane due to penalties incurred on Saturday. Both Red Bull cars were penalized due to rear-wing rule infractions

Top five:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, Mercedes
2. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Williams-Mercedes
3. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Williams-Mercedes
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Red Bull-Renault
5. Jenson Button, Brittain, McLaren-Mercedes

Championship's top five:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, 384 points
2. Nico Rosberg, Germany, 317 points
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, 214
4. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, 186 points
5. Fernando Alonso, Spain, 161

The season starts on March 15, 2015, with the Australian GP. In the meantime, check back with us to keep yourself abreast of the latest developments in F1.

The racing weekend that was

Formula One, under the lights, in Singapore:

Awesome Singapore skyline

One of the most anticipated events on the F1 race calendar is the Marina Bay Street Circuit. It is a track in which most of the corners kinda look alike, and as such, is considered difficult to learn for rookies. However, the glittering city skyline makes it all worth it.

In a race which Lewis Hamilton looked to have securely in the bag and Pastor Maldonado a podium finish for sure, well, it all changed for the worse. Around lap 22, as Hamilton's lead was 1.5 seconds ahead of Vettel and Button, the Brit lost all gears coming out of turn one. The onboard camera captured his right finger feverishly clicking away at the paddle-shifter trying to find a gear, but to no avail. The radio communication affirmed that the McLaren had gearbox issues on Saturday and the crew had done their best to remedy the situation.

Alonso maintains title lead

As Vettel inherited the lead, the Venezolean Maldonado started to put the heat on second place Jenson Button. However, in fourth was the Spaniard Alonso who after getting new tires started putting pressure of Maldonado, who at this point wasn't lapping as fast as the Ferrari No 1 driver. Around lap 34, a hydraulic failure was detected with the Williams car and Maldonado was ordered to bring the car into the pits and consequently had to retire. The fans love it, and the concerts are great too!

Schumacher crashes into Vergne

Micheal Schumacher plowed into the back of Vergne who was determined to get passed the struggles Sergio Perez. The two's fight had slowed their approach into a right hander, however, Schumi was oblivious to this and could not slow the Mercedes enough to avoid the collision. He would later be penalized by the race stewards. Vergne was also sidelined by the collision.

Overview of the track

In the end, Sebastion Vettel secured the win, followed by Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.
Vettel dedicated his win to the memory of Prof Sid Watkins.

The championship top five: 1. Alonso 194 points, 2. Vettel 165, 3. Raikkonen 149, 4. Hamilton 142,
5. Webber 132.
For some great pictures of this race, please click here.

The next race will be the Japanese GP on October 7. For more info, please click here.


NASCAR, at New Hampshire:

Hamlin celebrating his win

Denny Hamlin's luck turned this time around as he vowed to win the race. In the last race, at Chicagoland, he had run out of fuel whilst in the lead.

Hamlin had started 32nd due to a mistake with tire pressures during Firday's time trials. However, by the 100th lap he took the race lead.

The top five race results: 1. Denny Hamlin, 2. Jimmie Johnson, 3. Jeff Gordon, 4. Clint Bowyer, 5. Kasey Khane.

The next race will be run at Dover on September 30. For more info, please click here.


NHRA will follow tomorrow.

Thanks for reading

Source: Crash.net, Formula One, NASCAR.
Photo credit: Luxury Insider, eMercedes.com, Jerome Cijntje

The racing weekend that was

Formula 1, Grosser Preis Santader von Deutschland, at Hockenheim:
Ahead of the third practice session, Mark Webber, Romain Grosjean and Nico Rosberg changed gearboxes and had to take a five grid penalty after qualifying. In a rain-affected qualifying session, Ferarri's Fernando Alonso, for the second time in a row, made the most of his Pirelli's extreme wet tires in poor weather conditions and secured pole position.

Alonso leads into the first turn

On race Sunday, Alonso picked up where he left off and made a great start to the race without having to defend his line going into the first corner. And even though the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton was quicker than his Ferrari, and both Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button pressed him hard, the Spaniard led from start to finish in commanding fashion and took home the win.

Despite having just a few overtaking, the race was an exciting one for the leaders and their teams showcased their very best, without the interference of "Lady Luck" in the latter stages of the race. During first round pit-stops, Alonso (P1) and Vettel (P2) came in together and with his pitbox just behind Ferrari's, the suspense grew immensely. Usually, passing is done on the track and rarely in the pits in front of the pit-crew that committed a mistake. However, Ferrari boys stepped up to the plate and hit the ball out of the park, with a great stop.

In the second round of pitstops third place sitter Button pitted ahead of Vettel, who pitted a lap later. But when Vettel rejoined the race he came out just behind Button, who moved up to second place. Vettel made a charge on the McLaren driver on the penultimate lap and used his DRS on the run up to the hairpin. The German took the outside line and completed the pass on Button by putting all four tires off the track. Immediately hereafter,  Button complained on his radio that by going off the track Vettel had gained a competitive advantage.

Alonso celebrates his 3rd win of the season

In the end, Fernando Alonso won the race, Vettel who finished second was handed a 20 second penalty by the race stewards which pushed him back to fifth place. Jenson Button was brought up to second and Kimi Raikkonen to third place. To read selected driver quotes, click here.
With his win, Alonso extended his lead in the championship with a dominant lead of 34 points.

The Ferrari team mate of Alonso, the Brazilian Felipe Massa ran in the back of a Toro Rosso at the start of the race and had to come in for a new wing. This incidents' debris punctured Lewis' left rear on the second lap which effectively put  him out of the race. He retired due to damage to the rear of the car caused by the flat tire.

The next stop on the calendar is the ENI Magyar Nagydij, in Hungary, on July 29 next.

NASCAR, at Chicagoland:

Allgaier giving Sadler a push on last lap

In a very competitive racing championship, such as Nascar's Nationwide series, drivers must often dig deep in order to pull a win out of the hat. But none had to dig deeper than Elliott Sadler, who battled illness throughout the weekend. Luckily he had his doctor with him and by keeping hydrated through lots of fluid and a few IV's, Sadler was able rally late and capture the win.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had lead the majority of the race, but some ill-timed cautions caused him to finish in second place. Last year's Chicagoland race winner, Justin Allgaier was running second at the start of the green-white-checkered finish and was able to give Sadler a push and then protect him own position. However, he could hold off Stenhouse who passed him coming out of turn two relinquishing him to finish in third place.

Take a look at the last two laps of the race, in the 1 minute video below:

"I'm still not 100 percent, but it feels good to win here in Chicago," Sadler said. "My wife and I came here with another couple, which also happens to be my doctor, and we had to put him to work."

The next race will take place this Sunday, at Indy at 4 pm (ET).

Thanks for reading.

Source: Formula One, Crash.net, the F1 Times, NASCAR,
Photo credit: Totallycoolpix, NASCAR
Video credit: NASCAR