Bruce McLaren's last Formula 1 car
In 1970 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd was campaigning on three international racing fronts - which explains why the M14A wasn't the world-beater it could have been, says STUART CODLING
Bruce McLaren prided himself on the inventiveness and sheer industry of his small team. But by the turn of the 1970s, the strain was beginning to show as McLaren and team-mate Denny Hulme contested both the full Formula 1 championship and the US-based CanAm sportscar series, then added an Indianapolis programme to the company portfolio.
Lucrative though these peripheral activities were, they entailed a considerable division of labour in McLaren's busy industrial unit on David Road, Colnbrook, under the Heathrow flightpath. In 1968, Bruce had followed in the wheeltracks of his old Cooper team-mate Jack Brabham and won a grand prix in a car bearing his own name but, while the M7 family of F1 cars was neat and compact, development suffered for the dilution of resources - and Bruce's tendency to doggedly pursue his engineering flights of fancy.
Share Or Save This Story
The secrets of F1 turbocharging explained
Why Alpine’s rigorous training camp yields telling insights into its juniors
How a carryover Alpine blighted by politics gave Ocon an improbable F1 win
Why Ocon retains the approach forced on him by his “crazy journey”
The "fashion evolution" that transformed F1 drivers' helmet designs
The status factor that made Ferrari impossible for Hamilton to turn down
The lucrative deal that points to F1 Academy’s health
The increasing hurdles in front of Ricciardo's potential Red Bull return
Dale Coyne Racing retains Harvey for Long Beach IndyCar race
How to watch WRC's Croatia Rally: schedule, line-up and more
McLaren F1 team bracing for "damage limitation" in Chinese GP
How Porsche won, lost and won in Misano Formula E mayhem
The secrets of F1 turbocharging explained
Why Alpine’s rigorous training camp yields telling insights into its juniors
Ranking Derek Warwick’s top 10 greatest races
The ironic reason Newey thinks Red Bull hasn't been caught in F1 yet
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
