Bruce McLaren, born in Auckland New Zealand on the 30th of August 1937 is the man behind the McLaren marquee. He made a far greater impact on the Formula One world than the sum of his results as a driver.

He started driving in his homeland in the mid 1950's and his advancement to single seaters was swift, winning a scholarship to race in Europe in 1958 in Formula Two. His Formula one debut came the following year with Cooper, and by the time the season was over, he was a regularly scoring points, actually winning the final race of the season at Sebring making him the youngest ever Grand Prix driver. He was only 22. He played the role of number two to Jack Brabham in 1960, but took over the role of number one driver the following year when Brabham left the team. Unfortunately, several frustrating seasons were to follow before he formed his own team. Inspired by Jack Brabham, he formed ' Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd.' and constructed his own cars. He built this company into a successful professional outfit that earned a reputation for technical excellence.

His first Formula One chassis was designed by Robin Heard and built in 1966. Unfortunately, the first year of the 3-litre formula made suitable power units extremely scarce and he had to turn to an underpowered Italian Serenissima engine and an overweight Ford. Bruce won the first point for his team in the British Grand Prix in 1966 when he finished sixth after starting from thirteenth on the grid. Herds Ford Cosworth DFV-powered M7 became a potent weapon and Bruce gave it it's maiden victory in the Race of Champions. Enticing his friend and world champion, Danny Hulme to join him in 1968, Danny and the McLaren fought a championship down to the wire, but succumbed to Graham Hill in the final races of the season.

In the North American CanAm sports cars series, the McLarens of Bruce and Danny were a formidable force, but sadly in June of 1970, Bruce was killed while testing a CanAm at Goodwood. His legacy continues to this day and although the M7 was good, the car that was to put McLaren on the map in Formula One was the M23 with which Denny Hulme and Peter Revson won three races in 1973. McLarens first Constructors Crown came in 1974 after Emerson Fittipaldi joined the team after leaving Team Lotus. He took the title after three wins and a number of consistent point scoring finishes. He didn't make it two from two as they lost out to Niki Lauda and Ferrari in 1975 and Fittipaldi left the team at the end of the season. James Hunt replaced him and after a very dramatic season, he won the drivers title by one point but Ferrari took the constructors title. Although hunt won another three races in '77, the McLaren appeared to be overtaken by the incoming ground-effect technology.

Success returned to the team in 1984 after the teams' principal, Teddy Mayer, sold part of the company to Ron Dennis, who at the time was the team boss for the Project Four Formula two team. Ron brought meticulous attention to detail to the team and combined with designer John Barnard, they brought to life one of the Formula One classics, the carbon fibre MP4. The team had been struggling with normally aspirated engines against the emerging turbos in 1983, but the debut of the TAG-badged Porsche showed promise.

In 1984 Dennis signed Alain Prost, and after urging Lauda out of retirement to join McLaren in 82, he now had all the ingredients of a super team. Together Prost and Lauda dominated that first year together, with Prost winning seven races to Lauda's five. Lauda took the title by the smallest of margins, 72 to 71 and a half. Prost got his own back, taking the title for himself and McLaren the following year, and although he won it again in '86, the Williams Honda combination of Mansell and Piquet were clearly superior. In 1988, McLaren had the ultimate team, consisting of Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Honda powered engines. They totally dominated, winning fifteen of the sixteen races that season. Senna won their first title since 1985 and Prost won it again in 1989. Things were not good between the teammates and Prost left for Ferrari at the end of the season. Senna went on to win the title two more years in a row, but Honda withdrew in 1992, leaving the team with Ford power that was comparatively poor. Senna managed five more wins with the team in 1993, before leaving for Williams.

Ford power turned to Peugeot engines in 94, and what followed was a disastrous campaign that didn't yield any wins, so in 95 they switched to the Mercedes engines they run now, but the following two seasons remained barren. David Coulthard was the one to give the team its first victory since Senna won the 1993 season finale in Australia, and fittingly, David's win was also in Australia. The team was strong, but the reliability of the Mercedes engine was poor, with several near misses for both Coulthard and Hakkinen. Coulthard won again at the Italian Grand Prix and Mika Hakkinen secured his first victory in Jerez of 97 when Jacques Villeneuve allowed him to pass his ailing Williams.

1998 saw the dominance of the team begin again. From the beginning of the season, both Mika and David were the class of the field, winning five out of the first six races with sheer superiority. Ferrari and Michael Schumacher fought to the end, but McLaren came out on top again, taking the Constructors and drivers crown once again. Mixed blessings followed for the 99 season. Although the McLaren was still clearly superior, Ferrari and Schumacher continued to eat into their dominance. Mechanical failures, driver errors and pure bad luck hampered the last season of the millennium for the team, which saw Ferrari narrowly take the Constructors crown in the last race, although Mika Hakkinen retained his crown for a second year.

Ferrari dominated from the start of the 2000 season while Mclaren struggled with poor reliability. David Coulthard took second place in the Brazilian Grand Prix, however he was later disqualified for a technical infringement. By the time the first five races were completed, they were fighting to decrease Ferrari�s massive lead. The second half of the season was better however, Mika Hakkinen couldn�t quite catch Michael Schumacher and both the Finn and the team were forced to settle for second in both Championships. The new year brings new hope and you can count on them coming out fighting to reclaim their titles.

Mika's first win came on the 26th of October 1997, in Jerez, after Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher collided on lap 47. This accident saw Michael retiring, and Jacques limping to the finish. Both McLaren's caught the ailing Williams, passing him with ease, and thus allowing Mika his first ever Formula One win.He started in Karts at an early age, and then went on to win the Nordic title in 1987 in a Formula Ford Reynard. In 1988 he won the GM Euroseries for Dragon Racing, then entered British Formula Three, ending up 6th overall.

In 1990, he joined West Surrey Racing, and went on to beat fellow Finn, Mika Salo, after they battled against each other all season. He should have won the prestigious final race in Macau, but he crashed on the last lap, handing Michael Schumacher his first ever, big result. In 1991, he leaped from British Formula Three, straight to Formula One, bypassing the intermediate series of Formula 3000. Driving for Lotus, his first F1 race was in Phoenix, where he qualified in 13th position, but retired from the race on lap 59 with engine failure. In 1992, he finished 8th overall, his best place for the year, a 4th in Hungary.

He signed for McLaren in 1993, but was pushed back to the status of test driver, when Ayrton Senna decided to pick up his option with the team. Later in the same year, he stepped in for Michael Andretti, and actually out qualified Senna in Portugal, thus securing his drive for McLaren in 94, where he finished 4th overall.

Tragedy struck in Adelaide, Australia, during qualifying for the 1995 Grand Prix. Mika was shunted from behind, causing a horrific accident. Although his injuries were serious, the Finn's determination saw him return to be one of the front runners in 96 and 97, whenever the McLaren was competitive. Then comes 1998, and what more can we say? The combination of the superiority of the McLaren Mercedes, and Mika's driving skill, saw him take the World Drivers Championship. This win was not without a fight, and much controversy, but in the end, he drove on to have the honour of driving the number one car in 1999.

After a year that saw many incidents, including a heavy accident for his main rival in the title chase, Michael Schumacher, Mika eventually took the title again in the final race of the 99 season. Two titles both won in Suzuka. His season was not an easy one though, with driver errors and mechanical gremlins. With Schumacher sidelined, Hakkinen should have had the title in his lap, but due to some driving errors he found himself faced with new competition that was more than willing to take away his number one status. He had the honour of driving the number one car in 2000 as he began his quest to become a triple world champion, however things didn�t go according to plan. After a bad start to the year that saw his main rival, Michael Schumacher, take a strong lead in the championship, Mika made a comeback at the Austrian Grand Prix, giving his all for the remainder of the year. Unfortunately, the damage was done and he was unable to beat the Ferrari driver and was forced to settle for second in the drivers battle, something he hopes to rectify in 2001.

David had a very successful career in Karts, then graduated to Formula Ford in 1989, where he drove so well, that he won the first ever McLaren/Autosport Young Driver of the Year award. The prize just happened to be his first ever drive in a Formula One car. He made short work of the junior categories after that, even after missing several races due to a broken leg received in an accident at Spa in 1990. His reputation received a major boost in 1991, by winning both the International Formula Three races at Zandvoort, and Macau.

He finished 9th overall in Formula 3000 in 1992 for Paul Stewart Racing and third overall in 93. His greatest success for that year was his role as test driver for Williams, but 94 didn't bring him the drive he was hoping for, so he planned to continue in F3000, and test-driving. Tragedy stepped in though, and Sennas' death at Imola in 94 saw him move into the Williams team as a full time driver, and although he only competed in 8 races that year, he finished 8th overall.

1995 saw him continuing to drive for Williams, along side Damon Hill, winning his first Grand Prix in Portugal, beating both Michael Schumacher in the Benetton, and his own teammate. He finished third for the season with 49 points. In 1996 he switched to McLaren, partner to Mika Hakkinen, where he still remains. Although both drivers struggled to keep pace with Williams, David won the season opener in Australia 97, putting McLaren back on the winning track. Winning again in Monza, he finished equal third with Jean Alesi in the Drivers Championship.

1998 saw McLaren take the Constructors championship, but David had his share of ups and downs, winning his only race for the season at San Marino. Pit stop confusion, accidents, and the occasional mechanical problem didn't slow him too much, as he finished third overall with 56 points, behind the battle between Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen.

In 99, he once again fought gremlins, his car failing just as he started to get somewhere, but he finally saw his first win for the season at the eventful British Grand Prix. Although he continued to challenge his teammate, he ended up finishing fourth in the Drivers championship. He continued to partner double World Champion Mika Hakkinen in 2000, a season that saw him even more determined that ever before. A serious plane crash that saw the death of both pilots seemed to give the Scot a new lease on life. However, despite a very strong challenge for championship glory, he finished third in the standings. With the dawning of a new season dawns new hope and David has vowed that 2001 will finally be his year.