Much like Ferrari, the oldest surviving and the most successful team in the history of Formula One, McLaren started as a race-car manufacturer long before it began making road cars. Founded in 1963 as Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, the team joined F1 as a works entry in 1966. It has since competed in every single season of the series as of 2014, winning eight constructor’s championships and no fewer than 182 wins. Statistically, McLaren is second only to Ferrari when it comes to race starts, total wins, podium finishes, pole positions, fastest laps, and championship points, making it one of the most prominent names in the single-seat auto racing scene. Despite this, the British have not won the constructor’s title since 1998, but scoring podium finishes on 12 occasions through 2012. Both 2013 and 2014 were rather disappointing, with McLaren finishing fifth without scoring a single win. This bitter drought could come to an end in 2015, when McLaren tackles the F1 season with a brand-new chassis and an all-new hybrid powertrain.
While all engine manufacturers developed new power units for the 2014 season, McLaren had to wait until 2015 to benefit from Honda’s return to the sport as a powerplant supplier after a ten-year hiatus. The new alliance is of great historic importance, as it reunites the entities that won four back-to-back world championships between 1988 and 1991. It all began at the end of the iconic Turbo Era and continued well into the 3.5-liter, naturally aspirated engine period, when McLaren had two of the greatest drivers in history: Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.
The partnership between McLaren and Honda ended in 1992, when Honda retired only to return with BAR and Jordan between 2000 and 2005. Meanwhile, McLaren continued with Ford and Peugeot engines for two seasons before turning to Mercedes for a partnership that lasted two decades. Come 2015, McLaren hopes to win its first championship in 16 years using power from Honda’s first F1 engine since 2005. The hybrid powerplant was developed alongside a new single-seater, the MP4-30, with refined aerodynamics, a new nose-box solution and revised livery. Keep reading for the full rundown on McLaren’s all-new Formula One contender.
Click past the jump to read more about the 2015 McLaren-Honda MP4-30 Race Car.
McLaren-Honda MP4-30 Formula 1 Car originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 30 January 2015 16:00 EST.
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