McLAREN MP4/16 Mercedes

   The defeats suffered in both Championships in 2000 left a negative mark on the McLaren-Mercedes team, a squad accustomed to winning and always quick to bounce back in order to return to the top in the 2001 season. Ron Dennis, the General Manager of the Woking-based team in Surrey, England, made only slight changes to the technical staff who, in recent seasons, had created some of the most successful cars in Formula 1 history. The Technical Director was once again the brilliant, and in no need of introduction, British engineer Adrian Newey. The Chief Designer remained Neil Oatley, who had been leading McLaren’s car projects for 15 years. Veteran engineer Steve Nichols, with McLaren since 1981, left his role as Chief Engineer to become Technical Director at Jaguar, while Matthew Jeffreys, David North, David Neilson, and Paddy Lowe continued working in Woking in their respective positions as Head of Vehicle Design, Chief Transmission Engineer, Head Suspension Engineer, and Head of Research & Development.

McLAREN MP4/16, David Coulthard
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian GP 2001  

   French engineer Henri Durand also left the British team after a decade, and his role as Head of Aerodynamics was taken over by young Cypriot engineer Peter Prodromou, who had been with McLaren since 1991 in junior roles and, after a stint at Red Bull Racing between 2006 and 2013, remains part of the McLaren Formula 1 Team in 2024, still working on the aerodynamics of the new MCL38. To comply with new regulations that required stricter crash tests on the sides of the driver and at the rear, as well as a wider cockpit opening, Newey was forced to completely redesign the chassis, abandoning the previous successful MP4/14 and MP4/15 designs. The new MP4/16 was an entirely new car, starting with the nose, which returned to being high and squared, contrary to rival Ferrari’s 2001 car, which featured a rounded and lowered nose. The new front wing on the MP4/16 complied with regulations requiring teams to raise the wing’s height from the ground by 5 cm, adopting the spoon-shaped design typical of early 2000s Formula 1 cars.

McLAREN MP4/16, David Coulthard
Nürburgring, European GP 2001

   The new McLaren MP4/16 was unveiled to the public on 7 February 2001 at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, Spain, where it was immediately driven on track by British driver David Coulthard, retained from the previous season along with his teammate and two-time World Champion, Finnish driver Mika Häkkinen. The delay in unveiling the McLaren, one of the last teams on the grid to reveal its new car, was due to extensive wind tunnel work to refine the aerodynamics, which, as Newey himself stated, had been completely reworked to compensate for the reduced front downforce caused by the higher wing, which also affected rear downforce. The extra weight from the reinforced chassis, needed to pass the tougher crash tests, forced the Woking engineers to completely revise the weight distribution, requiring new suspension geometries while still maintaining the classic push-rod layout with torsion bar dampers, both front and rear.

McLAREN MP4/16, Mika Häkkinen
Melbourne, Australian GP 2001

   Newey’s meticulous attention to detail gave the MP4/16 smooth, harmonious lines, and, combined with its elegant silver-and-black livery, made it once again a beautiful car to behold. During the first outing in Valencia, Coulthard expressed confidence in a good season, stating that the MP4/16 was the best McLaren he had ever driven—even though the new Mercedes-Benz FO110K engine, a 72° V10 once again designed by Mario Illien and paired with a McLaren-built seven-speed sequential gearbox, lost its trademark power and reliability after the ban on beryllium alloy due to health concerns, and was outperformed this season by both Ferrari’s V10 and BMW’s new V10 in the Williams cars. From the Spanish Grand Prix onwards, the reintroduction of electronic traction and launch control further penalized McLaren, whose TAG Electronics-developed system caused frequent failures in the German V10. The TAG system worked by cutting fuel to one or more cylinders to temporarily reduce engine power and prevent unwanted wheelspin, but this caused mechanical stress that negatively impacted component lifespan.

McLAREN MP4/16, David Coulthard
Magny-Cours, French GP 2001

   The two titles won by Mika Häkkinen in 1998 and 1999 seemed to have taken some edge off the Finnish driver, who endured a below-par and particularly unlucky season, as in the Spanish Grand Prix at the Catalunya-Barcelona circuit, where he led from the first lap but was forced to retire on the final lap due to an engine failure. Häkkinen still secured two wins, at Silverstone and Indianapolis, along with a third place and other points finishes, earning fifth place in the Drivers’ Championship. Coulthard, on the other hand, enjoyed a much more productive season, with two wins, three second places, five thirds, and several other points finishes, scoring 65 points and taking second in the standings, the best result of his career. The McLaren MP4/16, though an excellent car, had the misfortune of competing against Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari F2001, one of the most successful cars in Formula 1 history, yet still managed to score 102 points and finish second in the Constructors’ Championship. At the end of the season, Mika Häkkinen announced his retirement from Formula 1, initially planned as a sabbatical year, but later becoming a permanent retirement, thus ending one of the most successful partnerships in F1 history, that of Häkkinen and Coulthard. His seat for the following season would be taken by another Finn, and future World Champion, the young Kimi Räikkönen.