The McLaren MCL35 is a Formula One car that was designed under the direction of James Key and constructed by McLaren to compete in the Formula One World Championship. The car was originally intended to compete in the 2020 season only, but as the championship was heavily disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the lifespan of all 2020 cars was extended into 2021. McLaren produced an upgraded version of the car, the McLaren MCL35M, for the 2021 championship as the team returned to using Mercedes engines. Both variants of the car were considered competitive and the team's results improved considerably during the two seasons it was used in, with McLaren regularly the third-fastest team and significantly closer to the leading teams than had been the case since the turbo-hybrid era began in 2014.

The MCL35 represented a substantial development over its predecessor, the MCL34, featuring a new design that increased aerodynamic efficiency and was better optimized for Renault engines. The MCL35 made its début at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix after the start of the season was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was driven by Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lando Norris. McLaren finished in third place in the World Constructors' Championship for the first time since 2012 and achieved podiums at the Austrian and Italian Grands Prix, while also claiming three fastest laps and setting a track record at the Red Bull Ring. (Full article...)

The 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (formally known as the 2015 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at the Yas Marina Circuit on 29 November 2015. The race was the nineteenth and final round of the 2015 season, and marked the seventh running of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as a round of the World Championship since its inception in 1950.

Lewis Hamilton was the defending race winner and had already secured his third Drivers' Championship earlier in the season at the United States Grand Prix. His team, Mercedes, had decided the Constructors' Championship in their favour at the Russian Grand Prix. (Full article...)

The 2016 British Grand Prix (formally known as the 2016 Formula 1 British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 10 July 2016 at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, United Kingdom. This race was the seventy-first running of the British Grand Prix, the first having been held in 1926, and was the tenth round of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship and the fiftieth time that the race was held at the Silverstone Circuit since the Formula One series inception in 1950.

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg entered the round with an eleven-point lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship. Mercedes held a 103-points advantage over Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship. During Saturday's qualifying session, Hamilton achieved the 55th pole position of his career to start from the front of the grid, ahead of Rosberg and Max Verstappen. (Full article...)

The 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 ING Magyar Nagydíj 2008) was a Formula One motor race held on 3 August 2008, at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, near Budapest. It was the 11th race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Contested over 70 laps, the race was won by Heikki Kovalainen for the McLaren team, from a second position start. Timo Glock finished second in a Toyota car, with Kimi Räikkönen third in a Ferrari. It was Kovalainen's first Formula One victory, which made him the sport's 100th driver to win a World Championship race, and it was Glock's first podium finish. It also turned out to be the only F1 race Kovalainen ever won.

The majority of the race consisted of a duel between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa, who drove for McLaren and Ferrari, respectively. Hamilton started from pole position but was beaten at the first corner by Massa, who passed him around the outside. The two championship rivals began a battle for the lead that was resolved when Hamilton sustained a punctured tyre just over halfway through the race, giving Massa a lead of more than 20 seconds over Kovalainen. The Ferrari's engine, however, failed with three laps remaining, allowing the McLaren driver to win. Räikkönen set the race's fastest lap in the other Ferrari, but was hampered by a poor qualifying performance and was stuck behind Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Glock in turn for almost all of the race. (Full article...)

The 2008 Turkish Grand Prix (officially the 2008 Formula 1 Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 11 May 2008 at the Istanbul Racing Circuit, Tuzla, Turkey. The 58-lap race, the fifth of the 2008 Formula One World Championship, was won by Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team from pole position. Lewis Hamilton finished second in a McLaren, with Kimi Räikkönen third in the second Ferrari.

Massa claimed pole, with teammate Räikkönen fourth, the two Ferrari cars sandwiching the McLarens of Heikki Kovalainen and Hamilton. At the first corner Räikkönen clipped Kovalainen's rear tyre and gave him a puncture. The safety car was deployed on the first lap, after a collision, but only remained out for one lap. During the course of the race, Hamilton, intending to make one more pit stop than both Ferrari drivers, was faster than Massa due to carrying a lighter fuel load and overtook him on lap 24. After Hamilton had made his third pit stop, he rejoined in second behind Massa but in front of the Championship leader, Räikkönen. Massa won the race, with Hamilton 3.779 seconds behind, and Räikkönen a further half-second behind. The two BMW Sauber cars of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld took fourth and fifth. (Full article...)

The McLaren MCL36 is a Formula One car that was designed under the lead of James Key and manufactured by McLaren to compete in the 2022 Formula One World Championship. The MCL36 was built to the new 2022 generation of Formula One technical regulations, which were originally intended for introduction in 2021. The car was widely considered to exhibit conventional and unambitious engine packaging. However, it stood out for a unique suspension layout not seen on any Formula One car for nearly ten years, and was noted for its lack of porpoising and good mechanical reliability.

The car made its début at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix, and was driven by Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris in their second and fourth years for the team, respectively. The car achieved two fastest laps and one podium finish over the course of the season, all scored by Norris. The MCL36 was the only car (and Norris the only driver) from outside the top three teams to finish on the podium in the 2022 season. However, the MCL36 is generally seen as a disappointment compared to its predecessor, the accomplished MCL35M, with inconsistent performance and a narrow operating window. Ricciardo's continued underperformance compared to Norris was also considered a significant contributing factor in McLaren's loss to Alpine in a season-long fight for fourth place in the World Constructors' Championship. (Full article...)

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and cars must conform. Each year, the F1 World Championship season is held. It consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets. Drivers are awarded points based on their finishing position in each race, and the driver who accumulates the most points over each championship is crowned that year's World Drivers' Champion. As of the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, there have been 778 Formula One drivers from 41 different nationalities who have started at least one of the 1,125 FIA World Championship races since the first such event, the 1950 British Grand Prix.

Seven-time champions Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton hold the record for the most championships. Hamilton also holds the record for the most wins with 105, the most pole positions with 104, the most points with 4862.5, and the most podiums with 202. Fernando Alonso has entered more Grands Prix than anyone else (404) and also holds the record for the most Grand Prix starts (401). The United Kingdom is the most represented country, having produced 163 drivers. Ten countries have been represented by just one. China became the latest country to be represented by a driver when Zhou Guanyu made his Formula One debut at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix driving for Alfa Romeo. The most recent driver to make their Formula One debut is Jack Doohan, who debuted at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. (Full article...)

A total of 75 World Championship seasons of Formula One (F1) have been run. F1 is the highest form of open wheeled auto racing series regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name alludes to a series of rules established by the FIA to which all participants and vehicles are required to conform. The F1 World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets; the most prestigious of the street circuits is the Monaco Grand Prix. As of 2021, the sporting regulations established by the FIA's Statutes state that the minimum number of events needed to form a F1 season is 8. The season can be declared a World Championship if F1 visits at least 3 continents in that season according to the International Sporting Code. The World Championship rule can be declared invalid if the FIA grants F1 an waiver for its "long‐established use of the word 'World'." Each season throughout F1 history has consisted of between 7 and 22 Grands Prix, and the regulations are regularly amended to enable an increase of the maximum number of permitted races each year.

The World Drivers' Championship is awarded to the most successful F1 driver over the course of the season, as determined by a points system based on Grand Prix results, and has been awarded since the first F1 season in 1950. The championship is the successor of the pre-war AIACR European Championship held between 1931 and 1939. The World Constructors' Championship is awarded to the most successful Formula One constructor over the course of the season, as determined by a points system based on Grand Prix results. The Constructors' Championship was first awarded as the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers in 1958, and its current name was adopted in 1981. Different combinations of chassis and engine makes are considered to be different constructors for the purposes of the Championship. Constructors' Championship points are calculated by adding points scored in each race by any driver for that constructor. Up until 1979, most seasons saw only the highest-scoring driver in each race for each constructor contributing points towards the Championship. On only 12 occasions has the World Constructors' Champion team not contained the World Drivers' Champion for that season. (Full article...)

The 2015 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars. It was the 66th Formula One World Championship recognised by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Twenty-two drivers representing 10 teams contested 19 Grands Prix, starting in Australia on 15 March and ending in Abu Dhabi on 29 November as they competed for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championships.

Lewis Hamilton was the defending Drivers' Champion after securing his second title at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. His team, Mercedes, began the season as the defending Constructors' Champion, having clinched its first championship title at the 2014 Russian Grand Prix. (Full article...)

The Hawthorn Memorial Trophy is an annual award honouring the achievements of a British or Commonwealth driver in Formula One motor racing. The Royal Automobile Club (RAC) launched it on 1 May 1959 as a memorial for Mike Hawthorn, a racing driver who retired immediately after becoming the first British Formula One World Drivers' Champion in the 1958 season as a result of the death of his teammate Peter Collins. The gilt and silver trophy, created by K. Lessons of the Goldsmiths Company in 1960, is mounted on a wooden pedestal and features chequered flags and the Union Flag. It is presented to the most successful British or Commonwealth driver of the previous year's Formula One World Championship. The trophy was initially presented at an annual ceremony held at the RAC's headquarters and club in London, but Motorsport UK currently awards it at the following year's British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit. The award is considered prestigious in the motor racing world.

The inaugural winner was the Australian driver Jack Brabham who won the 1959 championship. He went on to win the 1960 title, and thus, became the first competitor to retain the accolade. The first British winner was Stirling Moss for the 1961 season, and the inaugural recipient from New Zealand was Denny Hulme after winning the 1967 championship. The only Canadian recipient was Jacques Villeneuve following his winning the championship in the 1997 season. The least successful winner over the course of a season was Jenson Button, who finished in ninth position in the 2005 standings. British racers have won the trophy fifty-three times, followed by Australians with eight victories, New Zealanders with three wins and one Canadian winner. Of the nineteen recipients, all but seven have gone on to win the World Championship, with a total of 25 wins between them. The winner of the 2024 edition was Lando Norris, who finished second in that season's World Drivers' Championship. (Full article...)

The 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix (formally the XXIV Grande Prêmio do Brasil) was a Formula One motor race held on 26 March 1995 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil. It was the first round of the 1995 Formula One World Championship. Michael Schumacher of the Benetton team won the 71-lap race from second position. David Coulthard finished second in a Williams car, with Gerhard Berger third in a Ferrari. Damon Hill, who started the race from pole position, spun out while leading on lap 30 with an apparent gearbox problem, which was later found to be a suspension failure. Schumacher's win came despite Benetton encountering steering problems with his car during Friday practice, leading to him crashing heavily and necessitating steering component changes for the rest of the event. Despite Schumacher's victory, Hill proved to be faster during the race and seemed to be on course for a comfortable victory before his sudden retirement.

Other notable performances came from Berger, who took the final podium position despite being delayed during one of his routine pit stops due to a problem with a loose wheel nut, from Mika Häkkinen, who finished fourth for the McLaren team despite its new car proving to be uncompetitive in pre-season testing, and from Mika Salo, who drove strongly in the first half of the race to run third in his first Grand Prix for the Tyrrell team, only to suffer from a cramp and drop back to seventh place at the finish. Behind Häkkinen, the other points-scoring finishers were Jean Alesi in the second Ferrari and Mark Blundell, who drove the second McLaren. Blundell was standing in for regular driver Nigel Mansell in the second McLaren until the team could produce a wider chassis in which to accommodate him, as the car's initial cockpit design had proved to be too narrow for him to drive comfortably. (Full article...)

The 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Grande Prêmio Petrobras do Brasil 2012) was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil, on 25 November 2012. The race was the twentieth and final round of the 2012 Formula One World Championship, and marked the forty-first running of the Brazilian Grand Prix. The race was won by Jenson Button driving for McLaren, scoring the 15th and last victory of his Formula One career, as well as McLaren's last Grand Prix victory until the 2021 Italian Grand Prix and the last win for a British driver for McLaren until Lando Norris won the 2024 Miami Grand Prix.

It was at this race that Sebastian Vettel won the 2012 World Drivers' Championship, his third title in a row. Fernando Alonso finished second in both the race and the championship and had the provisional championship lead at a late stage of the race, before Vettel moved up the order to have a three-point cushion. The race also marked the 306th and final one for Michael Schumacher, after he announced his retirement for the second time. He also scored his final Formula One points by finishing seventh just behind eventual champion Vettel. (Full article...)

The 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix (formally the 2007 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race, held on 8 April 2007 at the Sepang International Circuit and the second race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. Reigning world champion Fernando Alonso won the race from second on the grid, with McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton finishing second. This marked McLaren's first one-two finish since the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix. Previous race winner Kimi Räikkönen finished third. Räikkönen's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa started the race from pole position, but was passed by both McLarens in the first two corners of the first lap, eventually finishing in fifth place behind BMW's Nick Heidfeld.

The Malaysian race was the first at which the two different tyre types used during the race were differentiated by a white stripe painted into the tread of the softer type, helping spectators to understand the race strategy of each driver. (Full article...)

The 2016 Russian Grand Prix (formally known as the 2016 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix; Russian: Гран-при России 2016 года, romanized: Gran-pri Rossii 2016 goda) was a Formula One motor race that took place on 1 May 2016. The race, contested over fifty-three laps, was held at the Sochi Autodrom. It was the fourth round of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship and marked the fifth running of the Russian Grand Prix, the third time as a round of the Formula One World Championship since the series inception in 1950. Nico Rosberg of Mercedes came into the race leading the championship ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was the defending race winner.

Nico Rosberg won the race from pole position, ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton, with Kimi Räikkönen completing the podium for Ferrari. While Rosberg extended his winning streak to seven consecutive Grands Prix, Sebastian Vettel retired from the race on the first lap, after contact with Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat. With the maximum number of 100 points from the first four races of the season, Rosberg left Russia with a 43-point lead to Hamilton. By securing pole position, winning the race, setting the fastest lap and leading every lap, Nico Rosberg achieved the first grand slam of his career. (Full article...)

The 2015 Australian Grand Prix, formally titled the 2015 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix, was a Formula One motor race that was held on 15 March 2015 in Albert Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The race was contested over fifty-eight laps of the Albert Park Circuit and was the first round of the 2015 Formula One World Championship. The race marked the 80th race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix – which dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race of 1928 – and the 20th time the event was held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit.

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was the defending race winner. His team-mate, Lewis Hamilton started the race from pole, his fourth at the circuit and a record for the venue. Hamilton led home Rosberg in a Mercedes 1–2 finish, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel completing the podium in his first start with the team. This race also featured the debuts of future four-time world champion Max Verstappen, and future race winner Carlos Sainz, both driving for Toro Rosso. In the process, Verstappen set the record for the youngest-ever debut in Formula One at 17 years and 166 days old. (Full article...)