McLaren

McLaren's logo

**McLaren** (currently known as **Scandinavian (Airlines System) McLaren BMW Petronas** for sponsorship purposes) is a team competing in Unofficial Formula 1 and owned by Saab Motorsport. It was brought into UF1 by Sean Sutherland, who sold it midway through the 2007 season due to poor performances.

## History

### 2005

2005 saw Mclaren's best season to date, using the MP4-20 with Mercedes engines. Kimi Raikkonen & David Coulthard had left to Audi and Minardi respectively, so were replaced by former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello and former Renault driver Giancarlo Fisichella. McLaren finished 6th in the Constructors with 157 points, with Rubens finishing 7th in the Drivers on 125 points, with a win at home to end the season and Giancarlo finished 13th in the Drivers on 32 points, with a highest position of 4th. This would be the team's highest Drivers & Constructors Championship position, as well as both drivers' highest on-track and Championship positions for the team.

### 2006

2006 saw McLaren's worst season to date after a disastrous switch to Renault engines for the MP4-21. Mclaren finished 9th in the Constructors on just 22 points. Rubens finished 14th in the Drivers on 16 points with a highest finish of 5th and Giancarlo finished 16th on 6 points with a highest finish of 7th, behind Auraline driver Takuma Sato, who finished with twice as many points, despite only competing in 2 races. Many believe this to be the main factor behind Sean Sutherland deciding to sell the team.

### 2007

2007 was the final season that Sutherland owned the team, selling it midway through the season to Saab Motorsport. The MP4-22 was the first McLaren to use BMW engines. This season was much more fruitful than 2006, with the team finishing 7th in the Constructors on 62 points, Rubens on 56 points with a highest finish of 5th and Giancarlo on 6 points again, with a highest finish of 7th. After Saab took over, team owner Jonathan Salzwedel started trying to replace the drivers, however failing to do so, resulting in him signing Rubens on a 1 year extension.

### 2008

2008 was seen as a step backwards for Mclaren, with the only saving grace being the BMW engine in the back of the MP4-23. This was McLaren's 2nd worst season to date, finishing 8th on just 24 points, with Rubens in 13th on 23 points, however he managed to get a 2nd place at Belgium. Giancarlo had his second worst season at Mclaren, finishing 17th with just 1 point. Saab once again tried to change drivers, this time somewhat succeeding, however loosing Rubens instead of the preferred Giancarlo. Rubens left at the end of the season to join Takuma Sato at Auraline.

### 2009

The rule changes that 2009 brought, saw massive improvements for McLaren and the MP4-24. The vacant space left by Rubens was filled by BMW junior driver Robert Kubica, who had left Auraline despite finishing 3rd in the championship the previous season and needed a seat. Robert brought a breath of fresh air and hope to the team, scoring points in all but the British GP and scoring 2 3rd places at Germany and Japan, finishing the season on 120 points. Giancarlo on the other hand, again scored just 1 point but finished 1 place lower than 2008 in 18th, resulting in Robert carrying the team all season. McLaren finished 5th in the constructors on 121 points with Robert 6th in the drivers. Sebastian Vettel announced he was leaving BMW after 2009, resulting in Robert being called up to take his place. Mclaren also ended Giancarlo's contract a year early, resulting in him retiring at the end of the season, meaning that 2010 would mark McLaren's first all new driver line-up since 2005.

## List of Drivers

### Current Drivers

#### F1

* Giancarlo Fisichella
* Robert Kubica (on loan)

#### Test & Reserve

* Tom Dillman
* Kazuki Nakajima
* Nico Muller

#### GP3

* Mika Maki
* Albert Costa
* Marco Wittmann