Honda Partnership Revival

Lore & Background

Founded by Bruce McLaren in 1963, 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. Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen, and Lewis Hamilton have won Drivers' Championships with McLaren. Champions Denny Hulme, Jody Scheckter, Keke Rosberg, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, and Jenson Button also drove for the team at one point during their careers. The team's most recent Constructors' Championship was secured in 1998 and Drivers' Championship in 2008. McLaren also has a history in sports car and endurance racing, with a modified McLaren F1 road car winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995. The team has also had experience in American open wheel racing as both an entrant and a chassis constructor, and has won the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) sports car racing championship. Their current IndyCar entry, Arrow McLaren, has won 10 races since its takeover of Sam Schmidt Motorsports in 2020. McLaren has previously entered the electric motorsports Formula E and Extreme E, though they achieved less success there than their other ventures and ended up pulling out of both. McLaren also participates in Formula One esports, in which they won the 2022 championship.

In Their Own Story

The 2015 Australian Grand Prix saw the return of the Honda name on the McLaren nose for the first time since 1992. The garage atmosphere was thick with anticipation as mechanics prepared the cars for the new power unit partnership. Yet, the reality quickly set in as the engine struggled to match the pace of competitors. The partnership's end came in September 2017 when McLaren confirmed an agreement with Renault for the 2018 season, effectively closing the book on this difficult chapter before the year concluded.

Reader's Guide

McLaren announced in 2013 that they would be using Honda engines from 2015 onwards, replacing Mercedes-Benz. The team raced as McLaren Honda for the first time since 1992 at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix. The second Honda partnership did not yield good results. In September 2017, McLaren announced they had agreed on an engine supply with Renault from 2018 to 2020. McLaren returned to using Mercedes-Benz engines from the 2021 season, with a deal in place until at least 2030.

Did You Know?

• McLaren is the only team to have completed the Triple Crown of Motorsport.
• The team won 15 of 16 races in the 1988 season with Honda engines.
• McLaren has not yet reached 1000 Grand Prix entries as of the 2025 season.
• The team's most recent Constructors' Championship was in 1998 and Drivers' Championship in 2008.