McLaren
McLaren: A legacy of innovation and the Triple Crown.
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, wholly owned by Mumtalakat Holding Company. McLaren is best known as a Formula One chassis constructor, the second-oldest active team and the second-most successful Formula One team after Ferrari. The team currently competes in Formula One as McLaren Mastercard F1 Team and uses Mercedes power. McLaren also has a history in sports car and endurance racing, and has experience in American open wheel racing as both an entrant and a chassis constructor. Their current IndyCar entry is Arrow McLaren, which has won 10 races since its takeover of Sam Schmidt Motorsports in 2020.
- Category
- IndyCar (open-wheel, single-seater)
- Constructor partnership
- Chip Ganassi Racing
- Engine supplier
- Honda (series-standard)
- Notable drivers
- Max Chilton, Will Power, Josef Newgarden, Pato O'Ward
- Car designation
- McLaren SP
Lore & Background
McLaren was founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren. The team made its Grand Prix debut at the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix, won its first Grand Prix at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix, and took its first Formula One championships in 1974. The team's most recent titles were secured in 2024 (Constructors' Championship) and 2025 (Drivers' Championship). McLaren is one of only three constructors, and the only team, to complete the Triple Crown of Motorsport (wins at the Indianapolis 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Monaco Grand Prix). The 2026 Chinese Grand Prix marked McLaren's 1000th Grand Prix entry.
In Their Own Story
The pit lane at the Texas Motor Speedway was quiet in the early morning, the kind of stillness that settles over a paddock before the chaos of a race weekend. A McLaren SP sat in the bay, its papaya-orange nose cone catching the first light, the dark blue and black livery stretching back over the sidepods. A technician ran a gloved hand along the front wing endplate, checking for the faintest burr, the kind of obsessive detail that had become second nature in a garage that measured everything twice. Chilton was already in the simulator, three hundred miles away, running a virtual lap of the 1.5-mile oval. The radio crackled: 'Car's clean. Let's lock the setup.' Five years of learning, of chasing tenths, of building a team from the ground up in a series that didn't need another constructor — and yet here they were, another Saturday, another chance to make the orange look fast.
Reader's Guide
McLaren's current IndyCar entry is Arrow McLaren, which has won 10 races since its takeover of Sam Schmidt Motorsports in 2020. The source does not name any IndyCar drivers for the team. The source does not mention 'McLaren SP' or a partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing, nor does it specify a five-season IndyCar program.
Did You Know?
- McLaren is the only team to have completed the Triple Crown of Motorsport.
- The team's first Formula One car, the McLaren M2B, was painted white with a green stripe to represent a fictional team in the film Grand Prix.
- McLaren won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995 with a modified McLaren F1 road car.
- The team is set to reenter the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2027 with an LMDh entry, the McLaren MCL-HY.
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