The current team was formed by the merger of Bruce McLaren Motor Racing with Ron Dennis's Project Four Racing in 1981. Shortly after the merger, Dennis organised a buyout of the original McLaren shareholders to take full control of the team. McLaren is part of McLaren Racing, a member of the McLaren Group. Engines are supplied by McLaren shareholder Mercedes-Benz through Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines. Dennis was team principal from the 1981 merger until March 2009, when he agreed to transfer his position to longtime McLaren employee Martin Whitmarsh. Dennis will continue to work within the McLaren Group. On 29 May 2009 McLaren, along with all other members of Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) submitted their entries for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, despite threatening to pull out at the end of the year. The team's current drivers are 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton and 2009 world champion Jenson Button, who has joined from Brawn GP after the team was bought and renamed Mercedes GP in November 2009. |
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, UK. Founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren, McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed in the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and Canadian-American Challenge Cup. The team is one of the most successful teams in Formula One, having won 164 races, 12 Drivers' Championships and 8 Constructors' Championships. The team was the first to design a car using a carbon fibre monocoque, which is now ubiquitous in its use by all teams.