How McLaren turned shop floor mutiny into credible recovery
For so long nearly a laughing stock in Formula 1, such has been the magnitude of its fall, McLaren has had to re-examine its entire working culture. STUART CODLING explains how results this past season show the pain might have been worth it...
When McLaren last won a grand prix, the world was a very different place. One Direction sat atop the US album charts. Google Plus still existed. Shares in Facebook were a snip at $23.99 (in August 2020 they reached $303.91). Felix Baumgartner had just demonstrated the thrilling extent of human endeavour by jumping from the edge of space. There was a James Bond film in the cinemas. You could still buy a BlackBerry, and people were. Donald Trump was arguing against a recount in the US election.
It was 25 November, 2012.
Third in the constructors' championship with the spoils of seven race victories jostling for space in its amply stuffed trophy cabinet, and with the feeling that better reliability might have earned Lewis Hamilton or Jenson Button the drivers' title, McLaren was already in the process of failing.
Share Or Save This Story
How the pursuit of marginal F1 gains caused Sauber's pitstop stumbles
The short-term pain that hides a very real Williams improvement
How a Shanghai to Sheffield journey paved the way for China’s F1 hero
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
Pourchaire eager for more IndyCar after “amazing” debut in Long Beach
Was Long Beach really Scott Dixon’s greatest IndyCar drive yet?
The eight minutes of madness that saw Ogier strike in Croatia
Sargeant baffled about not being told of illegal F1 safety car overtake
Chinese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024
Why Verstappen's China F1 win was a sideshow to the real battle
How the pursuit of marginal F1 gains caused Sauber's pitstop stumbles
The short-term pain that hides a very real Williams improvement
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.
