A well-stocked trophy cabinet and a storied past give many of Formula One’s teams a rich heritage, but on race day old glories count for nothing. History is rightly respected but it does not buy lap time. McLaren, one of F1’s most successful teams, know this only too well. This season, as optimism for success fell apart in devastating fashion, they face an uphill struggle to prove they really are ready to rejoin the top table.
McLaren have assuredly already earned their honours. Only Ferrari have competed in F1 for longer and only Ferrari are more successful. Since Bruce McLaren made his team’s debut in 1966 at Monaco they have won 12 drivers’ and eight constructors’ titles. From 909 races they have won 183, numbers that have made them synonymous with F1. They are the tallies of which other teams can only dream.
