What’s so special about the 1981 British Grand Prix? It was the first race won by a car with a carbon fibre composite chassis.
That car was the McLaren MP4/1, on that day it was driven by John Watson. In the video below you can hear the car’s designer John Barnard talk about his creation and its lasting effect on the safety of the F1 cars we watch today.
In the name of the P1, the 918 and the holy LaFerrari.
It’s the video we’d all been waiting for. After a bit over two weeks it’s racked up more than 1.2 million views. It’s Chris Harris in three of the most desirable cars ever made.
At almost one hour long the recipe couldn’t get any better. Throw in an empty and excellent Portimao racetrack and, well, yeah, the recipe does get better. And this video is great viewing, it really is.
But is it as good as you were hoping?
As custodians of The greatest F1 rivalry of all timeâ„¢ McLaren is in the unique position of having the luxury of curating the legacies of not one, but two of its most iconic drivers. For reasons too controverisal to dissect now Ayrton Senna is the beneficiary of “the good guy” status, which unwittingly leaves his adversary Alain Prost to play the role of “the bad guy”.
Over the years, then, for fear of reminding people that Prost won four world titles to Senna’s three, as just one example, Prost’s name is usually in the shadows to Senna’s spotlight. If you didn’t live through the 1980s and early 1990s you could be forgiven for thinking Prost drove for anyone but McLaren, such is the team’s willingness to remind everyone of Senna’s legacy in McLaren’s red and white livery.
So for this unabashed Prost fanboi I was impressed to see that McLaren can and has pumped up Alain’s tyres. Follow the link below to read the nine reasons you should dig Alain.
Of course you only need one: Prost is the greatest!
[Source: McLaren]
Detailing cars is a dirty job, it’s hard work and can be pretty boring. Perhaps working with some of the world’s most desireable and exclusive cars makes it all worthwhile.
That seems to be the case for Richard Tipper, who recently had this 1995 McLaren F1 GTR in his possession. Yep, it’s chassis #06R and it finished the 24 hour classic on the podium in third place.
We thank Richard for sharing these pics and making the F1 look better than new.
[Source: Twitter]
This is the first video Chris Harris has given us in the new McLaren 675LT. In case you’ve forgotten the 675LT is the go fast(er) version of the 650S. It weighs 100kg less and has an extra 25 horsepower.
Harris hopes to get his backside back into a 675LT at a later date so that he can give us some more extensive thoughts other than “It’s fast!”
Only three road going McLaren F1 GTs were ever made. This was done to homologate the F1 GTR ‘Longtail’ for racing. The car you see here is chassis #58F1GT and will be on display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend.
We thank McLaren for sharing these images with us and even though the ‘Longtail’ is not the most pleasing aesthetic result this is, after all, still a McLaren F1. That makes us happy and is a perfect way to end the working week.
For more on the McLaren F1 GT take a look at this entry on the McLaren website, which reads in part:
Constructed, like the rest of the bodywork, from carbon fibre, the F1 GT’s tail is clearly its most remarkable feature – but it’s by no means the only modification that was made for the 1997 season. The nose was extended to provide further aerodynamic downforce; the wheel arches were flared over the larger 18-inch alloys; and to top it all off (quite literally), the roof-mounted snorkel was enlarged to feed the 6.1-litre V12 with air. Altogether, the GT is over 600mm (two feet) longer than a standard McLaren F1 road car, as well as being over 100mm (four inches) wider.
We’re going to start this post with a little rant. Such is the aura and legend of “the great” Ayrton Senna that you could be forgiven for not knowing that a little bloke by the name of Alain Prost won three of his four world championships with McLaren.
“Oh did Allan Prost drive for McLaren too? I thought only Senna did,” quips some kid who never saw either of them race.
For me, a proud fan of The Professor, the lack of wider recognition given to Prost’s achievements at McLaren has always sat uneasily in the shadow of the perennially increasing legend of Ayrton Senna.
So to see that McLaren Special Operations has prepared a one-off P1 “Prost” for this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed is both a surprise and very welcome. Hitherto you could be excused for thinking McLaren was willing to airbrush Prost’s steady tricolour helmet design from the history books in favour of the flash of Senna’s brash yellow.
Thankfully, though, we now see before us an incredible P1 inspired by Prost’s racing colours and we couldn’t be happier to see it. Thank you McLaren, thank you.
There’s more photos of the P1 Prost after the break and click here for more on McLaren’s Flat out and fearless campaign.
The mighty McLaren F1 in a road test against the even mightier McLaren P1. Or is it? In some respects the end result doesn’t matter too much. For one thing you’d take either, or both, if you could. And secondly, the fun is in finding out which one is best, don’t you think?
Thank you Evo.
McLaren has a new car! Yes, a brand new MP4-30 ready to tackle the world’s best at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Alas, for McLaren, it’s nothing more than a new coat of paint. With all the problems the team is currently having with its much heralded Honda reunification you’d reckon the last thing they’d be concerning themselves with is the livery. Especially when it looks like a re-worked version of last year’s Sauber C33.
The original livery for the MP4-30 wasn’t much chop and this revision isn’t much better. If nothing else, and for McLaren’s sake, let’s hope this new livery brings in some better fortunes for the mechanical bits underneath the bodywork.
Fernando Alonso could be back on track at the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend after undergoing recent tests at Cambridge University. The tests conducted measured his short and long term memory as well as his reflexes.
Alonso’s adviser, Luis Garcia Abad, was circumspect in regards to the recent health checks, but did say he expects the dual world champion will be going to Sepang.
“It is private so I cannot confirm or deny it, but I have no doubts he will go to Malaysia as planned,” he said.
It’s understood Alonso will be subjected to a final round of tests by the FIA once he has arrived in Malaysia. Assuming he passes he should be given the all clear to return to competition.
The 33-year-old Spaniard has been recovering from concussion after crashing his McLaren-Honda MP4-30 during testing in Jerez on 22 February.
[Source: BBC]
Here we go again, another season of Formula 1 images starting in the best place on the calendar, Australia! You can relive the 2015 season opener after the break with our gallery of 89 images, all clickable to 2560px mega image sizing.
Meet Paul Bailey. He’s from the UK and owns a McLaren P1, a LaFerrari and a Porsche 918 Spyder. What a bastard!
In this video Bailey drives his P1 to pick up his new LaFerrari. Not content with taking delivery of one car for the day he shoots straight off to Porsche to collect his 918. Nice work if you can get it!
We’re treated to some of his thoughts on all three cars. This is not a balls out performance comparison that’s going to get him banned by over protective car makers (yet), but it’s still a worthwhile insight into the three best and most desirable hypercars of the moment.
[Source: The Supercar Driver]