# McLaren MP4-29

The McLaren MP4-29 was a Formula One racing car designed and built by McLaren to compete in the 2014 Formula One season. The chassis was designed by Tim Goss, Neil Oatley, Matt Morris, Mark Ingham and Marcin Budkowski and was powered by a customer Mercedes-Benz powertrain. The car was unveiled on 24 January 2014, and was driven by 2009 World Drivers' Champion Jenson Button and debutant Kevin Magnussen, who replaced Sergio Pérez, after he won the 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 Series title.
The MP4-29 was the most mechanically reliable car of the season with 36 classified finishes out of a possible 38.

## Background

The MP4-29 was designed to use Mercedes' new 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged engine, the PU106A Hybrid.
The MP4-29 was McLaren's first turbo-powered Formula One car since the Honda engined MP4/4 which powered Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost to 15 wins and 15 pole positions from 16 races in 1988. This was the last McLaren model that was powered by a Mercedes-Benz engine until the 2021 season, due to the team switching to Honda in 2015. It was also the last Mercedes-powered F1 car to use ExxonMobil fuel to foster Mercedes' partnership with Petronas.
It is the first Formula One car to use the Esso brand since 2009, which applied in some places for the 2014 season and applied fully from 2015 along with Exxon and Mobil in selected locations before switched to Red Bull Racing in 2017.

## Season summary

At the Australian Grand Prix, Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button finished third and fourth on the road, respectively, but were elevated to second and third after Daniel Ricciardo's disqualification. This was McLaren's last podium until the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. The cars sported a Mobil 1 livery to honour the team's 20-year association with the brand.
The promising result from Australia was followed by disappointing performances. In the Malaysian Grand Prix, Button could only manage sixth and Magnussen in ninth. Both cars were unable to complete the Bahrain Grand Prix due to issues with the clutch during the race. This marks the first time McLaren suffered a double DNF since the 2006 United States Grand Prix.
The team failed to record another podium finish all season, and although statistically, the MP4-29 was the most mechanically reliable car of the season with 36 classified finishes out of a possible 38, they ultimately finished fifth in the Constructors' Championship.

## Aftermath
### McLaren MP4-29H/1X1

A variation of the MP4-29, known as the McLaren MP4-29H/1X1 was introduced as a development car ahead of the team's engine partnership with Honda in 2015. After completing a shakedown at Silverstone, the McLaren ran the MP4-29H at the post-season tests at the Yas Marina Circuit in the week after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where it was driven by McLaren's development driver Stoffel Vandoorne. The car suffered problems throughout, completing a total of six untimed laps over the two-day test.

## Sponsorship and livery

After losing the Vodafone sponsorship, the car ran with a full chrome livery and black accents. During pre-season testing and in the video game F1 2014, the car's sidepods and rear wing featured the name of the car. Certain sponsors were retained from the previous season.

## Complete Formula One results

(key)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Pts | WCC |
| 2014 | McLaren Mercedes | Mercedes PU106A Hybrid | P | | AUS | MAL | BHR | CHN | ESP | MON | CAN | AUT | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | RUS | USA | BRA | ABU‡ | 181 | 5th |
| 2014 | McLaren Mercedes | Mercedes PU106A Hybrid | P | Kevin Magnussen | 2 | 9 | Ret | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 181 | 5th |
| 2014 | McLaren Mercedes | Mercedes PU106A Hybrid | P | Jenson Button | 3 | 6 | 17$^†$ | 11 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 8 | Ret | 5 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 181 | 5th |
Notes:
* † — Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as they had completed greater than 90% of the race distance.
* ‡ — Teams and drivers scored double points at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.