Autosport Plus

McLaren's other 20-year title drought - and why it should be over

McLaren last won a Formula 1 constructors' championship in 1998 - which is the same year as the last time it won a British GT title. While the F1 team remains some way off its best, that GT drought should've ended in 2019

McLaren fans remember the 1998 season with relish as the year Mika Hakkinen prevailed in dramatic circumstances over Michael Schumacher at Suzuka to give the team its first Formula 1 championship triumph since the days of Ayrton Senna - and what remains its last constructors' crown to this day.

But 1998 was also a significant year for McLaren in sportscars, as Tim Sugden and Pink Floyd manager Steve O'Rourke gave the F1 GTR the perfect send-off by winning the British GT Championship's GT1 class.

Share Or Save This Story

Author James Newbold

James Newbold is Autosport's Plus Editor, responsible for coordinating website feature content.

In a sign of things to come, having completed his Politics and International Relations degree at the University of East Anglia in 2015, he left his graduation ceremony early to catch the last train to Brussels for the following day's Spa 24 Hours.

After a period as a freelancer, he joined the Autosport staff in 2018 and won the Motorsport UK young journalist of the year award. He initially edited Autosport magazine's Performance and Engineering supplements before joining the website team in his current role in 2020.

A keen enthusiast of anything that can be categorised unusual or niche, he enjoys unearthing little-known stories across all branches of motorsport, but has spent most of his career covering sportscars and is a regular part of the Le Mans 24 Hours reporting team.

He lives with his wife and children in Plymouth, England.