McLaren M7A
Encyclopedia
The McLaren M7A and its M7B, M7C and M7D variants were Formula One
racing cars, built by McLaren
and used in the world championship between 1968 and 1971. After two relatively unsuccessful years of Formula One competition, the M7A was used to score McLaren's first win at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix
.
Designed by Robin Herd
and Gordon Coppuck
, the M7A was the first McLaren to be powered by the Cosworth DFV
engine, which went on the used by the team until 1983. The M7B had outboard fuel tanks and the M7C a modified chassis, whilst the M7D was powered by an Alfa-Romeo engine.
The M7A made its Grand Prix debut at the second race of the 1968 world championship
. After its victory in Belgium, it took another two wins that year, helping to place McLaren second in the constructors' championship.
was founded in 1963; Bruce McLaren
was a factory
driver for the Cooper
motor racing team which competed in Formula One
, the highest level of international single-seater
competition. Since 1966, McLaren and his team had been building and racing their own Formula One cars. Their first two seasons had been relatively unsuccessful, with six points scored (out of a potential 180) and a best result of fourth. The lack of a suitable engine caused problems: the 1966 M2B
car's Ford and Serinisimma V8 engine
s both lacked power and the 1967 M5A
's British Racing Motors
V12
did not arrive until mid-season.
In 1967 Cosworth
debuted their DFV
engine which was supplied exclusively to the Lotus
team. It was immediately successful, winning its first race, and for 1968 it became available for purchase by any manufacturer. McLaren bought five DFV engines at a cost of 7,500 pounds sterling
each. Designer Robin Herd
was recruited to the team in 1965 before which he had been an aerospace engineer at the National Gas Turbine Establishment
(NGTE) where he worked on the Concorde
project. His assistant Gordon Coppuck
was another ex-NGTE employee. Herd began the design of the M7A towards the end of 1967 but left to join Cosworth before its completion, leaving Coppuck and Bruce McLaren to complete the work.
with a mid-mounted engine
driving the rear wheels. The chassis was a bathtub-type (i.e. open-topped) monocoque
made from 22-gauge aluminium alloy
and 20-gauge magnesium alloy
panels glued and riveted together and to three steel
bulkhead
s. The monocoque terminated behind the driver's seat and the engine was used as a stressed part of the chassis, bolted directly to the rearmost bulkhead. The gearbox was then attached behind the engine, and the rear suspension – consisting of lateral top links, twin radius arm
s and reversed wishbone
s– attached to the gearbox and the rear bulkhead. The front suspension – upper and lower lateral links and radius arms – and the steering column were attached to the two bulkheads in front of the driver. Coilover
springs and Koni damper
s mounted outside of the body were employed front and rear.
The outer bodywork was mostly formed by the monocoque, except for the nose and cockpit which were covered by glass-reinforced plastic
(GRP) panels; the engine sometimes also had a GRP cover. The wheelbase
was 94 inches (2,387.6 mm); the front track
58 inches (1,473.2 mm) and the rear track 57 inches (1,447.8 mm); weight was 1140 pounds (517.1 kg). McLaren's own magnesium alloy wheels were used; they were 15 inches (38.1 cm) diameter at the rear and 15- or sometimes 13 inches (33 cm) diameter at the front.
Fuel was stored in tanks running down the side of the chassis, above the driver's legs and behind their seat, totalling 40 gallons (181.8 l) capacity. Full capacity was not required for most races so the tank above the driver's legs was usually almost empty. For the M7A's first two world championship races, Bruce McLaren's car was fitted with outboard "pannier" fuel tanks at the side of the cockpit. McLaren had a theory that sports racing cars' handling was superior to that of single-seaters because of the weight distribution of their fuel; the pannier tanks were an attempt to replicate this. According to McLaren mechanic Tyler Alexander this idea was developed in discussion with Lotus boss Colin Chapman
. After the car was damaged at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix
, it was rebuilt without the pannier tanks.
The 10+1/2 in disc brakes were unusual both in being made by Lockheed
when most British Formula One teams used Girling brakes, and in being ventilated. Ventilated discs – which have a hollow area between the two outer disc surfaces to aid cooling – had been tried by Lotus who had suffered from cracking problems caused by rapid heating and cooling. The McLaren team hoped that by being mounted well within the wheels, their discs would retain a more constant temperature.
During the 1968 season, wings
– which press the car and tyres towards the ground thereby increasing cornering speeds and reducing braking distances – first appeared on Formula One cars in races. Teams experimented with various wing set-ups and the governing body of the sport, the CSI
, regulated their use. McLaren had first experimented with wings on their 1965 M2A
Formula One development car but didn't use them on the following season's racing car, the M2B. The M7A and its variants wore a variety of wing configurations, as described in the racing history section.
The DFV engine, whose development was funded by Ford and which was designed and constructed by Cosworth, was normally aspirated with eight cylinder
s arranged in a v configuration
(i.e. a V8
) of 90 degrees. The block
was made from aluminium alloy and the cylinder liners from iron
. It had four valves per cylinder, actuated by double overhead camshafts. Liquid-cooling was provided by a radiator
situated in the nose which vented through ducts in the upper body surface whilst the engine oil
was cooled by a radiator mounted on top of the gearbox at the rear. Peak power was 410 bhp at 9,000 rpm. The gearbox was a Hewland DG300.
The works cars were painted in an orange hue known as papaya; it was not a national racing colour, however, the colour would continue to be used on works McLaren cars until Yardley sponsorship was obtained in 1972.
car, which itself was derived from the M7A. One was made.
's Autodelta
competition department and was powered by a 3.0 litre V8 engine from Alfa Romeo's T33
sports car. The engine is variously cited as producing peak power of between 410 bhp and 430 bhp (the highest figure said to be produced at 10,500 rpm), with good levels of torque, but McLaren found that performance varied significantly between units. To accommodate the engine, the wheelbase was lengthened to 96 inches (243.8 cm) and a new mounting point was created for the alternator
which, unlike on the DFV, was not integrated with the engine. One was made, although it is unclear whether this was a new chassis or a rebuilding of the M7B chassis.
For the 1968 Formula One season, after two years of driving the team's sole entry, Bruce McLaren was partnered by Denny Hulme
. Hulme was world champion with the Brabham team in 1967 and had raced for McLaren that year in Can-Am, a North American sports car racing series. For the first round of the 1968 world championship – the South African Grand Prix
, which was held in January, four months before the second round – only Hulme competed, using the M5A to finish fifth. The M7A's first race was the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch
, run to Formula One rules but not part of the world championship. There, McLaren won from pole position while Hulme was third. Another victory came at the non-championship BRDC International Trophy
at Silverstone
, this time with Hulme finishing first and McLaren second. In the M7A's championship debut in Spain
, Hulme was second and McLaren retired, then in Monaco
McLaren crashed and Hulme was fifth and last. At the Belgian Grand Prix
, they were fifth and sixth on the grid. Hulme took the lead and held it until a half shaft
failed two thirds of the way in. McLaren was then second behind Jackie Stewart
's Matra
but Stewart had to make a pit stop
for fuel on the final lap, giving McLaren the win, although he initially believed he had finished second. It was the McLaren team's first world championship victory and Bruce McLaren became the second driver, after Jack Brabham
, to win in a car bearing their own name; it was also the last win of his career.
After Belgium, McLaren's Goodyear tyres suffered a slump in competitiveness and the team and their car fell behind rivals Graham Hill
in his Lotus and Stewart in his Matra. At the Dutch Grand Prix
McLaren crashed out and Hulme retired with ignition failure. After Lotus had begun the first experimentation with wings in Monaco and Ferrari and Brabham had debuted full height wings in Belgium, McLaren fitted a rear wing to their car for the French Grand Prix
. However, mounted above the engine on the sprung mass of the car, it was not as effective as Lotus's wing mounted on the unsprung suspension components. In France Hulme was fourth, then fifth in Britain
but both cars were out of the points-earning positions at the German Grand Prix
.
An improvement in form came at the Italian Grand Prix
where the cars ran without wings and Goodyear brought their new G9 specification tyre. McLaren qualified on the front row and led to begin with until he slowed at the scene of an accident and was caught by Stewart, Hulme and Jo Siffert
in a Lotus. A slipstreaming battle ensued; McLaren retired with an oil leak at mid-distance but Hulme went on to win. From the Canadian Grand Prix
onwards, a third M7A was driven by Dan Gurney
whose Anglo American Racers
team – for whom Bruce McLaren had driven for three races in 1967 – had run out of funding for their own Eagle cars. Gurney retired with overheating in Canada, but Hulme and McLaren continued their success by finishing first and second respectively, albeit after their strongest challengers had all retired. Hulme was then jointly in the lead of the drivers' championship with two races to go. He ran competitively towards the beginning of the United States Grand Prix
but ultimately retired via a spin, pit stops to repair damaged brake lines and a gearbox output shaft failure which spun him again, this time into a crash. McLaren was sixth, Gurney fourth. Going into the final race in Mexico
, Hulme retained a chance of defending his title. McLaren finished second there, but Hulme crashed out because of a broken suspension damper allowing Hill to win the drivers' championship.
For 1969 McLaren, with an unchanged driver line-up, designed a new four-wheel drive car, the M9A, but whilst that was being readied, continued with the old car. The M9A was eventually unsuccessful and appeared only once, driven by Derek Bell
at the British Grand Prix
. At the South African Grand Prix
Hulme scored a podium with the M7A; Bruce used the M7B version and the pair were joined by Basil van Rooyen
in another M7A. In South Africa the works cars used rear wings mounted directly to the suspension on tall struts; at the Race of Champions Bruce McLaren's M7B was fitted with a similarly strutted front wing in the practice session but it was not used in the race. Hulme was third at the Race of Champions and then at International Trophy
Bruce McLaren switched to the M7C variant. McLaren qualified 13th on the grid at the Spanish Grand Prix
but took advantage of the crashes and breakdowns of those ahead of him to finish second. In the practice sessions at Monaco
, high front wings were added to the cars but before the race the CSI banned wings altogether. This left the team to make do with a small "ducktail" rear spoiler
, McLaren and Hulme racing to fifth and sixth respectively. Wings were then re-allowed, albeit not mounted on the suspension, and with teams searching for the best solution Mclaren initially opted for a "tea tray" rear wing and later a more conventional, low-mounted aerofoil.
Meanwhile, the Colin Crabbe Antique Automobiles team bought the M7B and Vic Elford
drove it at the Dutch Grand Prix
, finishing 10th. McLaren was fourth, third and third at the French
, British and German
Grands Prix respectively, but in each Hulme, who qualifed on the first row in France and Britain, was sidelined into retirement by mechanical failure. Elford took a best finish of fifth in France but then crashed and destroyed the M7B at the Nurburgring
in Germany. The Italian Grand Prix
at Monza
produced another slipstreaming battle; this time McLaren finished fourth, albeit only 0.19 seconds behind winner Stewart. More unreliability in Canada
and the United States
restricted the cars to a best finish of fifth before, at the season ending Mexico
race Hulme scored the M7's only win of the year.
With McLaren's introduction of the new M14A
in 1970, the M7 had only one more works outing when Dan Gurney used an M7A at the 1970 British Grand Prix
. Privateer John Surtees
bought the M7C as a stopgap until his own Surtees TS7 car was ready. He raced it at four grands prix, retiring from three and finishing sixth in the Netherlands
. The car then switched hands to Jo Bonnier who used it for two more races that year. The M7D was used intermittently with the M14D by Andrea de Adamich
and Nanni Galli
, qualifying for and starting only one race, the French Grand Prix
where de Adamich finished unclassified. By 1971 the only type's only entrant was Bonnier with his M7C. He used it at five races and had a best result of 10th in the Italian Grand Prix
.
.
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
racing cars, built by McLaren
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...
and used in the world championship between 1968 and 1971. After two relatively unsuccessful years of Formula One competition, the M7A was used to score McLaren's first win at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix
1968 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1968 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on June 9, 1968. It was the fourth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* This was the first race where wings were used on an F1 car...
.
Designed by Robin Herd
Robin Herd
Robin Herd is an English engineer, designer and businessman.Herd graduated from St Peter's College, Oxford with a double first in physics and engineering, before joining the Royal Aircraft Establishment in 1961 as a design engineer on the Concorde supersonic aircraft project...
and Gordon Coppuck
Gordon Coppuck
Gordon Coppuck is a British racing car designer who was chief designer for McLaren and later worked for March and co-founded Spirit....
, the M7A was the first McLaren to be powered by the Cosworth DFV
Cosworth DFV
The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine...
engine, which went on the used by the team until 1983. The M7B had outboard fuel tanks and the M7C a modified chassis, whilst the M7D was powered by an Alfa-Romeo engine.
The M7A made its Grand Prix debut at the second race of the 1968 world championship
1968 Formula One season
The 1968 Formula One season included the 19th FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on January 1, 1968, and ended on November 3 after twelve races.-Season summary:...
. After its victory in Belgium, it took another two wins that year, helping to place McLaren second in the constructors' championship.
Background
Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...
was founded in 1963; Bruce McLaren
Bruce McLaren
Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor....
was a factory
Factory-backed
Factory-backed is a term commonly used in motorsports to describe a sponsored racing team, car, motorcycle or driver that competes with official sanction and financial support, or "backing" from a manufacturer. As motorsports competition is an expensive endeavor, some degree of factory support is...
driver for the Cooper
Cooper Car Company
The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
motor racing team which competed in Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
, the highest level of international single-seater
Open wheel car
Open-wheel car, formula car, or often single-seater car in British English, describes cars with the wheels outside the car's main body and, in most cases, one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or fenders...
competition. Since 1966, McLaren and his team had been building and racing their own Formula One cars. Their first two seasons had been relatively unsuccessful, with six points scored (out of a potential 180) and a best result of fourth. The lack of a suitable engine caused problems: the 1966 M2B
McLaren M2B
The McLaren M2B was the McLaren team's first Formula One racing car, used during the 1966 season. It was conceived in 1965 and preceded by the M2A development car. Designed by Robin Herd, the innovative but problematic Mallite material was used in its construction...
car's Ford and Serinisimma V8 engine
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
s both lacked power and the 1967 M5A
McLaren M5A
The McLaren M5A/1 was a racing car constructed by Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, and was McLaren's first purpose-built Formula One car. Like its M4B predecessor, only one car of this type was ever built...
's British Racing Motors
British Racing Motors
British Racing Motors was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945, it raced from 1950 to 1977, competing in 197 Grands Prix and winning 17. In 1962, BRM won the Constructors' Title. At the same time, its driver, Graham Hill became World Champion...
V12
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
did not arrive until mid-season.
In 1967 Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
debuted their DFV
Cosworth DFV
The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine...
engine which was supplied exclusively to the Lotus
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
team. It was immediately successful, winning its first race, and for 1968 it became available for purchase by any manufacturer. McLaren bought five DFV engines at a cost of 7,500 pounds sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
each. Designer Robin Herd
Robin Herd
Robin Herd is an English engineer, designer and businessman.Herd graduated from St Peter's College, Oxford with a double first in physics and engineering, before joining the Royal Aircraft Establishment in 1961 as a design engineer on the Concorde supersonic aircraft project...
was recruited to the team in 1965 before which he had been an aerospace engineer at the National Gas Turbine Establishment
National Gas Turbine Establishment
The National Gas Turbine Establishment in Fleet, part of the Royal Aircraft Establishment , UK was the prime site in the UK for design and development of gas turbine and jet engines. It was created by merging the design teams of Frank Whittle's Power Jets and the RAE turbine development team run...
(NGTE) where he worked on the Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
project. His assistant Gordon Coppuck
Gordon Coppuck
Gordon Coppuck is a British racing car designer who was chief designer for McLaren and later worked for March and co-founded Spirit....
was another ex-NGTE employee. Herd began the design of the M7A towards the end of 1967 but left to join Cosworth before its completion, leaving Coppuck and Bruce McLaren to complete the work.
Design
The M7A was an open-wheeled single-seaterOpen wheel car
Open-wheel car, formula car, or often single-seater car in British English, describes cars with the wheels outside the car's main body and, in most cases, one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or fenders...
with a mid-mounted engine
Mid-engine design
A mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine between the rear and front axles. Another term for this is mid-ship.-Benefits:The mid-engine layout is typically chosen for its relatively favorable weight distribution...
driving the rear wheels. The chassis was a bathtub-type (i.e. open-topped) monocoque
Monocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
made from 22-gauge aluminium alloy
Aluminium alloy
Aluminium alloys are alloys in which aluminium is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon and zinc. There are two principal classifications, namely casting alloys and wrought alloys, both of which are further subdivided into the categories...
and 20-gauge magnesium alloy
Magnesium alloy
Magnesium alloys are mixtures of magnesium with other metals , often aluminium, zinc, manganese, silicon, copper, rare earths and zirconium. Magnesium is the lightest structural metal. Magnesium alloys have a hexagonal lattice structure, which affects the fundamental properties of these alloys...
panels glued and riveted together and to three steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
bulkhead
Bulkhead (partition)
A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a ship or within the fuselage of an airplane. Other kinds of partition elements within a ship are decks and deckheads.-Etymology:...
s. The monocoque terminated behind the driver's seat and the engine was used as a stressed part of the chassis, bolted directly to the rearmost bulkhead. The gearbox was then attached behind the engine, and the rear suspension – consisting of lateral top links, twin radius arm
Radius rod
A radius rod is a suspension member intended to control wheel motion in the longitudinal plane. The link is connected on one end to the wheel carrier or axle, on the other to the chassis or unibody of the vehicle.Radius rods typically are mounted ahead of the wheel...
s and reversed wishbone
Control arm
thumb|right|300px|Double Wishbone SuspensionIn automotive suspension, an automobile's control arm or wishbone is a nearly flat and roughly triangular suspension member , that pivots in two places. The broad end of the triangle attaches at the frame and pivots on a bushing...
s– attached to the gearbox and the rear bulkhead. The front suspension – upper and lower lateral links and radius arms – and the steering column were attached to the two bulkheads in front of the driver. Coilover
Coilover
A coilover is an automobile suspension device. "Coilover" is short for "coil spring over strut". It consists of a shock absorber with a coil spring encircling it. The shock absorber and spring are assembled as a unit prior to installation, and are replaced as a unit when the shock absorber has...
springs and Koni damper
Shock absorber
A shock absorber is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock impulse, and dissipate kinetic energy. It is a type of dashpot.-Nomenclature:...
s mounted outside of the body were employed front and rear.
The outer bodywork was mostly formed by the monocoque, except for the nose and cockpit which were covered by glass-reinforced plastic
Glass-reinforced plastic
Fiberglass , is a fiber reinforced polymer made of a plastic matrix reinforced by fine fibers of glass. It is also known as GFK ....
(GRP) panels; the engine sometimes also had a GRP cover. The wheelbase
Wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...
was 94 inches (2,387.6 mm); the front track
Axle track
The axle track in automobiles and other wheeled vehicles which have two or more wheels on an axle, is the distance between the centreline of two roadwheels on the same axle, each on the other side of the vehicle...
58 inches (1,473.2 mm) and the rear track 57 inches (1,447.8 mm); weight was 1140 pounds (517.1 kg). McLaren's own magnesium alloy wheels were used; they were 15 inches (38.1 cm) diameter at the rear and 15- or sometimes 13 inches (33 cm) diameter at the front.
Fuel was stored in tanks running down the side of the chassis, above the driver's legs and behind their seat, totalling 40 gallons (181.8 l) capacity. Full capacity was not required for most races so the tank above the driver's legs was usually almost empty. For the M7A's first two world championship races, Bruce McLaren's car was fitted with outboard "pannier" fuel tanks at the side of the cockpit. McLaren had a theory that sports racing cars' handling was superior to that of single-seaters because of the weight distribution of their fuel; the pannier tanks were an attempt to replicate this. According to McLaren mechanic Tyler Alexander this idea was developed in discussion with Lotus boss Colin Chapman
Colin Chapman
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE was an influential British designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars....
. After the car was damaged at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix
1968 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1968 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Monte Carlo Circuit on May 26, 1968. It was the third round of the 1968 Formula One season. The race was won by Lotus driver Graham Hill, who started from pole position...
, it was rebuilt without the pannier tanks.
The 10+1/2 in disc brakes were unusual both in being made by Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
when most British Formula One teams used Girling brakes, and in being ventilated. Ventilated discs – which have a hollow area between the two outer disc surfaces to aid cooling – had been tried by Lotus who had suffered from cracking problems caused by rapid heating and cooling. The McLaren team hoped that by being mounted well within the wheels, their discs would retain a more constant temperature.
During the 1968 season, wings
Wing (automotive)
(for the panels around the wheels of a car see Fender (vehicle)A wing in this context is an aerodynamic device intended to generate downforce on an automobile. The first production car to feature a rear wing was the 1969 mercury cyclone spoiler, soon followed by the drastically larger Superbird and...
– which press the car and tyres towards the ground thereby increasing cornering speeds and reducing braking distances – first appeared on Formula One cars in races. Teams experimented with various wing set-ups and the governing body of the sport, the CSI
Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile
The Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile was the governing body for motor racing events. The organisation's origins date from 1922, when the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile delegated the organisation of automobile racing to the CSI , an autonomous committee that would later...
, regulated their use. McLaren had first experimented with wings on their 1965 M2A
McLaren M2B
The McLaren M2B was the McLaren team's first Formula One racing car, used during the 1966 season. It was conceived in 1965 and preceded by the M2A development car. Designed by Robin Herd, the innovative but problematic Mallite material was used in its construction...
Formula One development car but didn't use them on the following season's racing car, the M2B. The M7A and its variants wore a variety of wing configurations, as described in the racing history section.
The DFV engine, whose development was funded by Ford and which was designed and constructed by Cosworth, was normally aspirated with eight cylinder
Cylinder (engine)
A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...
s arranged in a v configuration
V engine
A V engine, or Vee engine is a common configuration for an internal combustion engine. The cylinders and pistons are aligned, in two separate planes or 'banks', so that they appear to be in a "V" when viewed along the axis of the crankshaft...
(i.e. a V8
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
) of 90 degrees. The block
Cylinder block
A cylinder block is an integrated structure comprising the cylinder of a reciprocating engine and often some or all of their associated surrounding structures...
was made from aluminium alloy and the cylinder liners from iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
. It had four valves per cylinder, actuated by double overhead camshafts. Liquid-cooling was provided by a radiator
Radiator (engine cooling)
Radiators are used for cooling internal combustion engines, mainly in automobiles but also in piston-engined aircraft, railway locomotives, motorcycles, stationary generating plant or any similar use of such an engine....
situated in the nose which vented through ducts in the upper body surface whilst the engine oil
Motor oil
Motor oil or engine oil is an oil used for lubrication of various internal combustion engines. The main function is to lubricate moving parts; it also cleans, inhibits corrosion, improves sealing, and cools the engine by carrying heat away from moving parts.Motor oils are derived from...
was cooled by a radiator mounted on top of the gearbox at the rear. Peak power was 410 bhp at 9,000 rpm. The gearbox was a Hewland DG300.
The works cars were painted in an orange hue known as papaya; it was not a national racing colour, however, the colour would continue to be used on works McLaren cars until Yardley sponsorship was obtained in 1972.
M7B
The M7B was a one-off conversion of an M7A chassis with the fuel stored low and centrally in integral tanks at the sides of the cockpit. This was another result of Bruce McLaren's theory about improving the car's handling by altering the fuel weight distribution. Author and former McLaren secretary Eoin Young said that another purpose of the outboard tanks was to make room for a four-wheel-drive system.M7C
The chief distinguishing characteristic of M7C was its fully enclosed monocoque which gave greater torsional rigidity than the bathtub chassis. It was based on McLaren's M10A Formula 5000Formula 5000
Formula 5000 was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars that no longer fit into any particular formula...
car, which itself was derived from the M7A. One was made.
M7D
The M7D was commissioned by Alfa RomeoAlfa Romeo in motorsport
During its history, Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in many different categories of motorsport, including Grand Prix motor racing, Formula One, sportscar racing, touring car racing and rallies. They have competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, via works entries and private...
's Autodelta
Autodelta
Autodelta SpA was the name of Alfa Romeo's competition department. Established in 1961 as Auto-Delta, the company was started by Carlo Chiti, a former Alfa Romeo and Ferrari engineer, and Ludovico Chizzola, an official Alfa Romeo dealer. The team was officially made a department of Alfa Romeo on...
competition department and was powered by a 3.0 litre V8 engine from Alfa Romeo's T33
Alfa Romeo T33
The Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 was a sports racing prototype raced by the Alfa Romeo factory-backed team between 1967 and 1977. These cars took part for Sport Cars World Championship, Nordic Challenge Cup, Interserie and CanAm series...
sports car. The engine is variously cited as producing peak power of between 410 bhp and 430 bhp (the highest figure said to be produced at 10,500 rpm), with good levels of torque, but McLaren found that performance varied significantly between units. To accommodate the engine, the wheelbase was lengthened to 96 inches (243.8 cm) and a new mounting point was created for the alternator
Alternator
An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current.Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field but linear alternators are occasionally used...
which, unlike on the DFV, was not integrated with the engine. One was made, although it is unclear whether this was a new chassis or a rebuilding of the M7B chassis.
Racing history
Denny Hulme
Denis Clive "Denny" Hulme, OBE was a New Zealand racing driver, the 1967 Formula One World Champion for the Brabham team....
. Hulme was world champion with the Brabham team in 1967 and had raced for McLaren that year in Can-Am, a North American sports car racing series. For the first round of the 1968 world championship – the South African Grand Prix
1968 South African Grand Prix
The 1968 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on January 1, 1968. It was the first round of the 1968 Formula One season. The race, contested over 73 laps, was won by two time World Drivers' Champion and 1965 Indianapolis 500 winner Jim Clark for Lotus-Ford...
, which was held in January, four months before the second round – only Hulme competed, using the M5A to finish fifth. The M7A's first race was the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...
, run to Formula One rules but not part of the world championship. There, McLaren won from pole position while Hulme was third. Another victory came at the non-championship BRDC International Trophy
1968 BRDC International Trophy
The 20th BRDC International Trophy was a non-championship Formula One race held at Silverstone on April 25, 1968.-Classification:-References:...
at Silverstone
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and Banbury...
, this time with Hulme finishing first and McLaren second. In the M7A's championship debut in Spain
1968 Spanish Grand Prix
The 1968 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jarama Circuit on May 12, 1968. It was the second round of the 1968 Formula One season. It was the first race after the death of former double World Champion Jim Clark, who had died in a non-championship Formula Two event in...
, Hulme was second and McLaren retired, then in Monaco
1968 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1968 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Monte Carlo Circuit on May 26, 1968. It was the third round of the 1968 Formula One season. The race was won by Lotus driver Graham Hill, who started from pole position...
McLaren crashed and Hulme was fifth and last. At the Belgian Grand Prix
1968 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1968 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on June 9, 1968. It was the fourth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* This was the first race where wings were used on an F1 car...
, they were fifth and sixth on the grid. Hulme took the lead and held it until a half shaft
Half shaft
The term half shaft is another name for a front-wheel drive shaft, which is also called the constant velocity axle or CV axle. There is one half shaft per wheel. Some may further to this part as a CV shaft....
failed two thirds of the way in. McLaren was then second behind Jackie Stewart
Jackie Stewart
Sir John Young Stewart, OBE , better known as Jackie Stewart, and nicknamed The Flying Scotsman, is a Scottish former racing driver and team owner. He competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships. He also competed in Can-Am...
's Matra
Matra
Mécanique Aviation Traction or Matra was a French company covering a wide range of activities mainly related to automobile, bicycles, aeronautics and weaponry. In 1994, it became a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group and now operates under that name.Matra was owned by the Floirat family...
but Stewart had to make a pit stop
Pit stop
In motorsports, a pit stop is where a racing vehicle stops in the pits during a race for refuelling, new tires, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, or any combination of the above...
for fuel on the final lap, giving McLaren the win, although he initially believed he had finished second. It was the McLaren team's first world championship victory and Bruce McLaren became the second driver, after Jack Brabham
Jack Brabham
Sir John Arthur "Jack" Brabham, AO, OBE is an Australian former racing driver who was Formula One champion in , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name....
, to win in a car bearing their own name; it was also the last win of his career.
After Belgium, McLaren's Goodyear tyres suffered a slump in competitiveness and the team and their car fell behind rivals Graham Hill
Graham Hill
Norman Graham Hill was a British racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion. He is the only driver to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport — the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 and Formula One World Championship.Graham Hill and his son Damon are the only father and son pair both to...
in his Lotus and Stewart in his Matra. At the Dutch Grand Prix
1968 Dutch Grand Prix
The 1968 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Zandvoort Circuit on June 23, 1968. It was the fifth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Qualifying :- Race :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings...
McLaren crashed out and Hulme retired with ignition failure. After Lotus had begun the first experimentation with wings in Monaco and Ferrari and Brabham had debuted full height wings in Belgium, McLaren fitted a rear wing to their car for the French Grand Prix
1968 French Grand Prix
The 1968 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Rouen-Les-Essarts Circuit on 7 July 1968. It was the sixth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* Milestones:** 1st Win - Jacky Ickx...
. However, mounted above the engine on the sprung mass of the car, it was not as effective as Lotus's wing mounted on the unsprung suspension components. In France Hulme was fourth, then fifth in Britain
1968 British Grand Prix
The 1968 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Brands Hatch Circuit on July 20, 1968. It was the seventh round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* Records:** 100th Grand Prix start - Jack Brabham...
but both cars were out of the points-earning positions at the German Grand Prix
1968 German Grand Prix
The 1968 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Nürburgring on August 4, 1968. It was the eighth round of the 1968 Formula One season...
.
An improvement in form came at the Italian Grand Prix
1968 Italian Grand Prix
The 1968 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Monza Autodrome on September 8, 1968. It was the ninth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings...
where the cars ran without wings and Goodyear brought their new G9 specification tyre. McLaren qualified on the front row and led to begin with until he slowed at the scene of an accident and was caught by Stewart, Hulme and Jo Siffert
Jo Siffert
Joseph Siffert was a Swiss racing driver.Affectionately known as "Seppi" to his family and close friends, Siffert was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, the son of a dairy owner...
in a Lotus. A slipstreaming battle ensued; McLaren retired with an oil leak at mid-distance but Hulme went on to win. From the Canadian Grand Prix
1968 Canadian Grand Prix
The 1968 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Mont-Tremblant Circuit on September 22, 1968. It was the tenth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings...
onwards, a third M7A was driven by Dan Gurney
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager...
whose Anglo American Racers
Anglo American Racers
All American Racers was an American auto racing team and constructor based in Santa Ana, California. Founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in 1964, All American Racers initially participated in American sports car and Champ Car races as well as international Formula One events with cars named...
team – for whom Bruce McLaren had driven for three races in 1967 – had run out of funding for their own Eagle cars. Gurney retired with overheating in Canada, but Hulme and McLaren continued their success by finishing first and second respectively, albeit after their strongest challengers had all retired. Hulme was then jointly in the lead of the drivers' championship with two races to go. He ran competitively towards the beginning of the United States Grand Prix
1968 United States Grand Prix
The 1968 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 6, 1968 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was the eleventh round of the 1968 Formula One season.__FORCETOC__-Summary:...
but ultimately retired via a spin, pit stops to repair damaged brake lines and a gearbox output shaft failure which spun him again, this time into a crash. McLaren was sixth, Gurney fourth. Going into the final race in Mexico
1968 Mexican Grand Prix
The 1968 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Hermanos Rodriguez Autodrome on November 3, 1968. It was the twelfth and final round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jo Siffert - 1:45.22...
, Hulme retained a chance of defending his title. McLaren finished second there, but Hulme crashed out because of a broken suspension damper allowing Hill to win the drivers' championship.
For 1969 McLaren, with an unchanged driver line-up, designed a new four-wheel drive car, the M9A, but whilst that was being readied, continued with the old car. The M9A was eventually unsuccessful and appeared only once, driven by Derek Bell
Derek Bell (auto racer)
Derek Reginald Bell MBE is a former racing driver from England who was extremely successful in sportscar racing, winning five times at Le Mans. He also raced in Formula One for the Ferrari, McLaren, Surtees and Tecno teams...
at the British Grand Prix
1969 British Grand Prix
The 1969 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit on July 19, 1969. It was the sixth round of the 1969 Formula One season...
. At the South African Grand Prix
1969 South African Grand Prix
The 1969 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on March 1, 1969. It was the first round of the 1969 Formula One season.- Background :...
Hulme scored a podium with the M7A; Bruce used the M7B version and the pair were joined by Basil van Rooyen
Basil van Rooyen
Basil van Rooyen is a former racing driver from South Africa. He participated in two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on January 1, 1968. He retired from both, scoring no championship points...
in another M7A. In South Africa the works cars used rear wings mounted directly to the suspension on tall struts; at the Race of Champions Bruce McLaren's M7B was fitted with a similarly strutted front wing in the practice session but it was not used in the race. Hulme was third at the Race of Champions and then at International Trophy
1969 BRDC International Trophy
The 21st BRDC International Trophy was a non-championship Formula One race held at Silverstone on March 30, 1969.-Classification:-References:...
Bruce McLaren switched to the M7C variant. McLaren qualified 13th on the grid at the Spanish Grand Prix
1969 Spanish Grand Prix
The 1969 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Montjuïc circuit on May 4, 1969. It was the second round of the 1969 Formula One season....
but took advantage of the crashes and breakdowns of those ahead of him to finish second. In the practice sessions at Monaco
1969 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1969 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Monaco on May 18, 1969. It was the third round of the 1969 Formula One season.- Qualifying :- Race :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings...
, high front wings were added to the cars but before the race the CSI banned wings altogether. This left the team to make do with a small "ducktail" rear spoiler
Spoiler (automotive)
A spoiler is an automotive aerodynamic device whose intended design function is to 'spoil' unfavorable air movement across a body of a vehicle in motion. Spoilers on the front of a vehicle are often called air dams, because in addition to directing air flow they also reduce the amount of air...
, McLaren and Hulme racing to fifth and sixth respectively. Wings were then re-allowed, albeit not mounted on the suspension, and with teams searching for the best solution Mclaren initially opted for a "tea tray" rear wing and later a more conventional, low-mounted aerofoil.
Meanwhile, the Colin Crabbe Antique Automobiles team bought the M7B and Vic Elford
Vic Elford
Victor Henry Elford is a former sportscar racing, rallying and Formula One driver from England. He participated in 13 World Championship F1 Grands Prix, debuting on 7 July 1968...
drove it at the Dutch Grand Prix
1969 Dutch Grand Prix
The 1969 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Zandvoort Circuit on June 21, 1969. It was the fourth round of the 1969 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings...
, finishing 10th. McLaren was fourth, third and third at the French
1969 French Grand Prix
The 1969 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Charade Circuit on July 6, 1969. It was the fifth round of the 1969 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings...
, British and German
1969 German Grand Prix
The 1969 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Nürburgring on 3 August 1969 with Formula Two cars competing by invitation. It was the seventh round of the 1969 World Championship for Drivers. The F2 entrants were not eligible for points in the World Championship.-Report:Gerhard Mitter...
Grands Prix respectively, but in each Hulme, who qualifed on the first row in France and Britain, was sidelined into retirement by mechanical failure. Elford took a best finish of fifth in France but then crashed and destroyed the M7B at the Nurburgring
Nürburgring
The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...
in Germany. The Italian Grand Prix
1969 Italian Grand Prix
The 1969 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 7, 1969. The race was notable in that less than a fifth of second separated the winner from the fourth-placed driver, and is generally reckoned to be the closest 1-2-3-4 in Formula One history...
at Monza
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is a race track located near the town of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. The circuit's biggest event is the Formula One Italian Grand Prix, which has been hosted there since the sport's inception....
produced another slipstreaming battle; this time McLaren finished fourth, albeit only 0.19 seconds behind winner Stewart. More unreliability in Canada
1969 Canadian Grand Prix
The 1969 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on September 20, 1969. Jacky Ickx led home a Brabham 1-2.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jacky Ickx - 1:17.4...
and the United States
1969 United States Grand Prix
The 1969 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 5, 1969 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:...
restricted the cars to a best finish of fifth before, at the season ending Mexico
1969 Mexican Grand Prix
The 1969 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on October 19, 1969.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jack Brabham - 1:42.90*Fastest lap: Jacky Ickx - 1:43.05 on lap 64-Standings after the race:...
race Hulme scored the M7's only win of the year.
With McLaren's introduction of the new M14A
McLaren M14A
The McLaren M14A is a Formula One racing car built and run by McLaren in the 1970 World Championship and the 1971 World Championship. The D car was later used as an extension of the A version, featuring a V8 Alfa Romeo engine....
in 1970, the M7 had only one more works outing when Dan Gurney used an M7A at the 1970 British Grand Prix
1970 British Grand Prix
The 1970 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Brands Hatch on July 18, 1970.- Classification :-Notes:* Pole Position: Jochen Rindt - 1:24.8* Fastest Lap: Jack Brabham - 1:25.9* Rindt was initially disqualified but within minutes reinstated...
. Privateer John Surtees
John Surtees
John Surtees, OBE is a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver from England. He was 500cc motorcycle World Champion in 1956 and 1958–60, Formula One World Champion in 1964, and remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels...
bought the M7C as a stopgap until his own Surtees TS7 car was ready. He raced it at four grands prix, retiring from three and finishing sixth in the Netherlands
1970 Dutch Grand Prix
The 1970 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on June 21, 1970.- Classification :-Notes:* Pole Position: Jochen Rindt - 1:18.5* Fastest Lap: Jacky Ickx - 1:19.23* Driver Piers Courage had a fatal accident in this race....
. The car then switched hands to Jo Bonnier who used it for two more races that year. The M7D was used intermittently with the M14D by Andrea de Adamich
Andrea de Adamich
Andrea Lodovico de Adamich is a former racing driver from Italy. He participated in 34 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 1 January 1968. He scored a total of 6 championship points...
and Nanni Galli
Nanni Galli
Giovanni Giuseppe Gilberto Galli, nicknamed Nanni is an Italian former saloon and sports-car racer of the 1960s and 1970s....
, qualifying for and starting only one race, the French Grand Prix
1970 French Grand Prix
The 1970 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Charade Circuit on July 5, 1970.- Classification :-Notes:* Pole Position: Jacky Ickx - 2:58.22* Fastest Lap: Jack Brabham – 3:00.75...
where de Adamich finished unclassified. By 1971 the only type's only entrant was Bonnier with his M7C. He used it at five races and had a best result of 10th in the Italian Grand Prix
1971 Italian Grand Prix
The 1971 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monza on September 5, 1971. This race is often referred to as the fastest Formula One race of all time, with a record average speed of 242.615 km/h , a record that was not broken until 32 years later at the 2003 Italian Grand Prix at...
.
World championship results table
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce McLaren Motor Racing | M7A | Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... Cosworth DFV Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine... 3.0 V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
RSA 1968 South African Grand Prix The 1968 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on January 1, 1968. It was the first round of the 1968 Formula One season. The race, contested over 73 laps, was won by two time World Drivers' Champion and 1965 Indianapolis 500 winner Jim Clark for Lotus-Ford... |
ESP 1968 Spanish Grand Prix The 1968 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jarama Circuit on May 12, 1968. It was the second round of the 1968 Formula One season. It was the first race after the death of former double World Champion Jim Clark, who had died in a non-championship Formula Two event in... |
MON 1968 Monaco Grand Prix The 1968 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Monte Carlo Circuit on May 26, 1968. It was the third round of the 1968 Formula One season. The race was won by Lotus driver Graham Hill, who started from pole position... |
BEL 1968 Belgian Grand Prix The 1968 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on June 9, 1968. It was the fourth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* This was the first race where wings were used on an F1 car... |
NED 1968 Dutch Grand Prix The 1968 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Zandvoort Circuit on June 23, 1968. It was the fifth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Qualifying :- Race :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
FRA 1968 French Grand Prix The 1968 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Rouen-Les-Essarts Circuit on 7 July 1968. It was the sixth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* Milestones:** 1st Win - Jacky Ickx... |
GBR 1968 British Grand Prix The 1968 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Brands Hatch Circuit on July 20, 1968. It was the seventh round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* Records:** 100th Grand Prix start - Jack Brabham... |
GER 1968 German Grand Prix The 1968 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Nürburgring on August 4, 1968. It was the eighth round of the 1968 Formula One season... |
ITA 1968 Italian Grand Prix The 1968 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Monza Autodrome on September 8, 1968. It was the ninth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
CAN 1968 Canadian Grand Prix The 1968 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Mont-Tremblant Circuit on September 22, 1968. It was the tenth round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
USA 1968 United States Grand Prix The 1968 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 6, 1968 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was the eleventh round of the 1968 Formula One season.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... |
MEX 1968 Mexican Grand Prix The 1968 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Hermanos Rodriguez Autodrome on November 3, 1968. It was the twelfth and final round of the 1968 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jo Siffert - 1:45.22... |
49 3 |
2nd 10th Points were awarded separately for each combination of chassis and engine. Therefore McLaren-Ford were second in the world championship with 49 points whilst McLaren-BRM were 10th with three points |
||||
| Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor.... |
Ret | Ret | 1 | Ret | 8 | 7 | 13 | Ret | 2 | 6 | 2 | |||||||||
| Denny Hulme Denny Hulme Denis Clive "Denny" Hulme, OBE was a New Zealand racing driver, the 1967 Formula One World Champion for the Brabham team.... |
2 | 5 | Ret | Ret | 5 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 1 | Ret | Ret | |||||||||
| Anglo American Racers Anglo American Racers All American Racers was an American auto racing team and constructor based in Santa Ana, California. Founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in 1964, All American Racers initially participated in American sports car and Champ Car races as well as international Formula One events with cars named... |
M7A | Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... Cosworth DFV Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine... 3.0 V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
Dan Gurney Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager... |
Ret | 4 | Ret | ||||||||||||||
| Bruce McLaren Motor Racing | M7A M7B M7C |
Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... Cosworth DFV Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine... 3.0 V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
RSA 1969 South African Grand Prix The 1969 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on March 1, 1969. It was the first round of the 1969 Formula One season.- Background :... |
ESP 1969 Spanish Grand Prix The 1969 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Montjuïc circuit on May 4, 1969. It was the second round of the 1969 Formula One season.... |
MON 1969 Monaco Grand Prix The 1969 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Monaco on May 18, 1969. It was the third round of the 1969 Formula One season.- Qualifying :- Race :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
NED 1969 Dutch Grand Prix The 1969 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Zandvoort Circuit on June 21, 1969. It was the fourth round of the 1969 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
FRA 1969 French Grand Prix The 1969 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Charade Circuit on July 6, 1969. It was the fifth round of the 1969 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
GBR 1969 British Grand Prix The 1969 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit on July 19, 1969. It was the sixth round of the 1969 Formula One season... |
GER 1969 German Grand Prix The 1969 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Nürburgring on 3 August 1969 with Formula Two cars competing by invitation. It was the seventh round of the 1969 World Championship for Drivers. The F2 entrants were not eligible for points in the World Championship.-Report:Gerhard Mitter... |
ITA 1969 Italian Grand Prix The 1969 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 7, 1969. The race was notable in that less than a fifth of second separated the winner from the fourth-placed driver, and is generally reckoned to be the closest 1-2-3-4 in Formula One history... |
CAN 1969 Canadian Grand Prix The 1969 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on September 20, 1969. Jacky Ickx led home a Brabham 1-2.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jacky Ickx - 1:17.4... |
USA 1969 United States Grand Prix The 1969 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 5, 1969 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... |
MEX 1969 Mexican Grand Prix The 1969 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on October 19, 1969.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jack Brabham - 1:42.90*Fastest lap: Jacky Ickx - 1:43.05 on lap 64-Standings after the race:... |
38 | 4th | |||||
| Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor.... |
5 | 2 | 5 | Ret | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | DNS | Ret | |||||||||
| Denny Hulme Denny Hulme Denis Clive "Denny" Hulme, OBE was a New Zealand racing driver, the 1967 Formula One World Champion for the Brabham team.... |
3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 8 | Ret | Ret | 7 | Ret | Ret | 1 | |||||||||
| Team Lawson | M7A | Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... Cosworth DFV Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine... 3.0 V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
Basil van Rooyen Basil van Rooyen Basil van Rooyen is a former racing driver from South Africa. He participated in two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on January 1, 1968. He retired from both, scoring no championship points... |
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| Colin Crabbe Antique Automobiles |
M7B | Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... Cosworth DFV Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine... 3.0 V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
Vic Elford Vic Elford Victor Henry Elford is a former sportscar racing, rallying and Formula One driver from England. He participated in 13 World Championship F1 Grands Prix, debuting on 7 July 1968... |
10 | 5 | 6 | Ret | |||||||||||||
| Bruce McLaren Motor Racing | M7A | Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... Cosworth DFV Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine... 3.0 |
RSA 1970 South African Grand Prix The 1970 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on March 7, 1970. It was the first round of the 1970 Formula One season... |
ESP 1970 Spanish Grand Prix The 1970 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Jarama on April 19, 1970. It was the second round of the 1970 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
MON 1970 Monaco Grand Prix The 1970 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Circuit de Monaco on May 10, 1970. It was the third race of the 1970 Formula One season.-Report:... |
BEL 1970 Belgian Grand Prix The 1970 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Spa-Francorchamps on June 7, 1970.- Classification :-Notes:* Pole Position: Jackie Stewart - 3:28.0* Fastest Lap: Chris Amon - 3:27.4*Last win: Dunlop... |
NED 1970 Dutch Grand Prix The 1970 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on June 21, 1970.- Classification :-Notes:* Pole Position: Jochen Rindt - 1:18.5* Fastest Lap: Jacky Ickx - 1:19.23* Driver Piers Courage had a fatal accident in this race.... |
FRA 1970 French Grand Prix The 1970 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Charade Circuit on July 5, 1970.- Classification :-Notes:* Pole Position: Jacky Ickx - 2:58.22* Fastest Lap: Jack Brabham – 3:00.75... |
GBR 1970 British Grand Prix The 1970 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Brands Hatch on July 18, 1970.- Classification :-Notes:* Pole Position: Jochen Rindt - 1:24.8* Fastest Lap: Jack Brabham - 1:25.9* Rindt was initially disqualified but within minutes reinstated... |
GER 1970 German Grand Prix The 1970 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Hockenheimring on 2 August 1970.On short notice following the drivers demand for improved safety at the Nürburgring, the race was moved to Hockenheim as this track already had been fitted with Armco... |
AUT 1970 Austrian Grand Prix The 1970 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Österreichring on August 16, 1970. This was the second Austrian Grand Prix and the first Formula One race at the scenic Österreichring, built to replace the bumpy and bland Zeltweg Airfield circuit.... |
ITA 1970 Italian Grand Prix The 1970 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 6, 1970. The race was marred by the death of Jochen Rindt, who died during the qualifying session on September 5... |
CAN 1970 Canadian Grand Prix The 1970 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Circuit Mont-Tremblant on September 20, 1970.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings... |
USA 1970 United States Grand Prix The 1970 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 4, 1970 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... |
MEX 1970 Mexican Grand Prix The 1970 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Mexico City on October 25, 1970.- Race report :The immense crowd of 200,000 proved almost uncontrollable and almost forced the cancellation of the race. They were crammed in front of the guard-rails, sat at the trackside and ran across the... |
35 0 |
5th 9th Points were awarded separately for each combination of chassis and engine. Therefore McLaren-Ford were fifth in the world championship with 35 points whilst McLaren-Alfa Romeo were 9th with zero points. The McLaren-Ford total includes points scored with other models. |
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| Dan Gurney Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager... |
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| Team Surtees Surtees The Surtees Racing Organisation was a race team that spent nine seasons as a constructor in Formula One, Formula 2, and Formula 5000.-History:... |
M7C | Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... Cosworth DFV Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine... 3.0 V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
John Surtees John Surtees John Surtees, OBE is a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver from England. He was 500cc motorcycle World Champion in 1956 and 1958–60, Formula One World Champion in 1964, and remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels... |
Ret | Ret | Ret | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Alfa Romeo | M7D | Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo in motorsport During its history, Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in many different categories of motorsport, including Grand Prix motor racing, Formula One, sportscar racing, touring car racing and rallies. They have competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, via works entries and private... 3.0 V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
Nanni Galli Nanni Galli Giovanni Giuseppe Gilberto Galli, nicknamed Nanni is an Italian former saloon and sports-car racer of the 1960s and 1970s.... |
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| Andrea de Adamich Andrea de Adamich Andrea Lodovico de Adamich is a former racing driver from Italy. He participated in 34 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 1 January 1968. He scored a total of 6 championship points... |
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| Ecurie Bonnier Ecurie Bonnier Ecurie Bonnier, Ecurie Suisse, Joakim Bonnier Racing Team and Anglo-Suisse Racing Team were names used by Swedish racing driver Joakim Bonnier to enter his own cars in Formula One , Formula Two and sports car racing between 1957 and his death in 1972... |
M7C | Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... Cosworth DFV Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine... 3.0 V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
Jo Bonnier | DNQ |
Ret | |||||||||||||||
| Ecurie Bonnier Ecurie Bonnier Ecurie Bonnier, Ecurie Suisse, Joakim Bonnier Racing Team and Anglo-Suisse Racing Team were names used by Swedish racing driver Joakim Bonnier to enter his own cars in Formula One , Formula Two and sports car racing between 1957 and his death in 1972... |
M7C | Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... Cosworth DFV Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. Named Four Valve because of the four valves per cylinder, and Double as it was a V8 development of the earlier, four-cylinder FVA , making it a Double Four Valve engine... 3.0 V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
RSA 1971 South African Grand Prix The 1971 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on March 6, 1971. The race, which was the first round of the 1971 Formula One season, was won by Mario Andretti who was driving for the Ferrari team.-Report:... |
ESP 1971 Spanish Grand Prix The 1971 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Montjuïc circuit on April 18, 1971. It was the second round of the 1971 Formula One season.... |
MON 1971 Monaco Grand Prix The 1971 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monaco on May 23, 1971.- Race report :Qualifying was extremely wet and so it was Friday morning times that really counted for the grid - for Mario Andretti this was particularly unfortunate as his car was stranded out on the track at this... |
NED 1971 Dutch Grand Prix The 1971 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on June 20, 1971. Due to heavy rain, the track was treacherously wet and slippery, giving a large advantage to "wet-weather men" Ickx and Rodriguez, who also happened to be equipped with highly suitable cars and... |
FRA 1971 French Grand Prix The 1971 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Circuit Paul Ricard on 4 July 1971.- Race report :The race was taking place for the first time at the brand new Paul Ricard circuit in the mountains outside Marseille. Jackie Stewart gained pole position - helped by extensive tyre... |
GBR 1971 British Grand Prix The 1971 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Silverstone on July 17, 1971.- Race report :On one of the fastest circuits on the calendar, horsepower counted for everything... |
GER 1971 German Grand Prix The 1971 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Nürburgring on 1 August 1971.The race returned to the Nürburgring after a year at the Hockenheimring after the safety was improved on the track. The race distance was shortened to 12 laps. Notable driver changes included Vic Elford, who... |
AUT 1971 Austrian Grand Prix The 1971 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Österreichring on August 15, 1971.- Race report :Jo Siffert took a surprise pole position from Jackie Stewart and led away at the start from Clay Regazzoni and Jacky Ickx. The front two drew away from the pack, where Regazzoni was duelling... |
ITA 1971 Italian Grand Prix The 1971 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monza on September 5, 1971. This race is often referred to as the fastest Formula One race of all time, with a record average speed of 242.615 km/h , a record that was not broken until 32 years later at the 2003 Italian Grand Prix at... |
CAN 1971 Canadian Grand Prix The 1971 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Mosport Park on September 19, 1971. Jackie Stewart took the win in the awful conditions and the race was stopped after 64 laps due to the weather... |
USA 1971 United States Grand Prix The 1971 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 3, 1971 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... |
10 |
6th All points were scored with other models. |
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| Jo Bonnier | Ret | DNQ |
DNS | 10 | 16 | |||||||||||||||
| Refs |
PC simulation
In 2005, a driveable, detailed replica of the McLaren M7B was released as part of the free '69 Mod' for the pc-based racing simulation Grand Prix LegendsGrand Prix Legends
Grand Prix Legends is a computer racing simulator developed by Papyrus Design Group and published in 1998 by Sierra Entertainment...
.