McLaren is one of the most successful teams in Formula 1 history, with 189 race wins, nine World Constructors' Championships, and 12 World Drivers' Championships. Many of the best drivers in Formula 1 history drove for McLaren, including Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, and Lewis Hamilton. The first of Hamilton's seven drivers' championships came with McLaren in 2008, and he'll head to Ferrari next year. McLaren took the 2024 constructors' championship to give it nine in total, tying with Williams for second all-time behind Ferrari's 16. McLaren is one of four teams that use Mercedes engines. The others are the Mercedes works squad, Williams, and Aston Martin.
Mercedes finished fourth in the constructors' standings this year with Hamilton and George Russell behind the wheel, and Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll piloted Aston Martin to a distant fifth-place finish. McLaren's title came courtesy of youngsters Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who finished second and fourth in the race for the drivers' title, respectively.
The future for the team is bright, as Norris just turned 25 and Piastri will celebrate his 24th birthday next April during the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Norris and Piastri are committed to McLaren through 2026, when new engine regulations go into effect. The young tandem evokes memories of the 2008 McLaren squad, which featured a 23-year-old Hamilton and 27-year-old Heikki Kovalainen running Mercedes engines.
Last year, McLaren announced that it would keep Mercedes as an engine supplier through 2030, extending the partnership that ran from 1995 through 2014 and resumed in 2021.