The Singapore Grand Prix marked a milestone second for McLaren, the squad sealing the tenth Groups’ Championship of their lengthy and storied historical past. Having to date achieved 12 wins, 28 podiums and a whopping 650 factors in 2025, the Woking-based outfit wrapped up the title with six rounds of the marketing campaign remaining.
It’s probably a powerful feat – however how does this success evaluate to the group’s earlier triumphant seasons? Properly, we’ve taken a shot at rating every of McLaren’s 10 Groups’ Championships, from their first in 1974 by means of to their newest.
As ever, this comes with the caveat that Method 1 has undergone varied adjustments – comparable to developments to the points-scoring system and the elevated quantity races in a season – throughout the group’s title-winning campaigns, making comparisons tough, however now we have tried to steadiness statistics with sentiment in our record.
Don’t fairly agree with our order? Tell us which of the group’s titles you charge as the best within the ballot under…
10. 1985
Drivers – Niki Lauda and Alain Prost
Races – 16, Wins – 6 (37.5%), Podiums – 12 (37.5%), Factors – 90
Whereas it feels unfair to rank any title triumph on the backside, we begin with the 1985 crown. Such has been the success that McLaren have skilled of their championship-winning seasons that this marketing campaign – through which they took victory in six out of 16 races – options one in all their decrease profitable percentages.
Arriving into the season off the again of title glory in 1984 (extra on which later), 1985 introduced with it elevated competitors as seven drivers – from 5 totally different groups – every received races.
McLaren’s Alain Prost – who had simply missed out on the Drivers’ title in 1984 to group mate Niki Lauda – emerged victorious in a complete of 5 Grands Prix, whereas Lauda stood on the highest step simply as soon as.
This in the end gave the squad their third Groups’ Championship and marked the primary time that that they had achieved back-to-back titles.
9. 1990
Drivers – Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger
Races – 16, Wins – 6 (37.5%), Podiums – 18 (56.3%), Factors – 121
The 1990 season marked a change in driver line-up for McLaren, with Gerhard Berger arriving to companion Ayrton Senna after tensions boiled over between the Brazilian and former group mate Alain Prost (once more, extra to come back on that).
Prost’s transfer to Ferrari noticed his former group choose up fewer wins, with Senna main the cost as he once more went head-to-head with the Frenchman within the championship combat.
That battle resulted in notorious model when the rivals controversially collided into the primary nook on the Japanese Grand Prix, instantly placing each out of the race and handing Senna the Drivers’ crown within the course of.
McLaren, in the meantime, took the Groups’ Championship with an 11-point margin from Ferrari.
8. 1991
Drivers – Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger
Races – 16, Wins – 8 (50%), Podiums – 18 (56.3%), Factors – 139
The 1991 crown was a historic achievement for McLaren, marking the group’s fourth consecutive championship victory. This run of type was unbeaten for a number of years, with solely Ferrari (six titles between 1999-2004) and Mercedes (eight titles between 2014-2021) bettering the document.
Amid earlier rivals Ferrari falling away, reigning Drivers’ Champion Ayrton Senna kicked off his and the group’s title defence in commanding model, profitable all 4 of the marketing campaign’s opening races together with his long-awaited first home victory in Brazil.
Regardless of Williams rising as their nearest competitor because the marketing campaign progressed, McLaren did sufficient to fend off the problem and safe their seventh Groups’ title to finish a exceptional run of 4 back-to-back championships, whereas Senna clinched his third Drivers’ crown.
It could show to be the ultimate time that Senna grew to become a World Champion, whereas McLaren must wait a number of years for his or her subsequent title…
7. 1974
Drivers – Emerson Fittipaldi and Denny Hulme
Races – 15, Wins – 4 (26.7%), Podiums – 10 (33.3%), Factors – 73
Statistically, McLaren’s 1974 triumph is one other to characteristic a decrease profitable share, the squad having taken victory in 4 out of 15 races.
Nonetheless, for sure, this championship was an extremely necessary one because it marked the primary time that the group had skilled title glory since making their F1 debut again in 1966.
With the robust pairing of World Champions Emerson Fittipaldi and Denny Hulme on the wheel, McLaren lastly earned a long-awaited Groups’ title, whereas Fittipaldi additionally scored the squad’s first Drivers’ crown.
Coming simply 4 years after the demise of founder Bruce McLaren, the feat was an emotional one. As Fittipaldi recounted in a McLaren interview final 12 months: “On the time, we have been 28 individuals, now it’s 1,000. For certain, it created much more motivation for the longer term. Historical past tells us what occurred subsequent, with so many implausible World Champions.”
6. 2024
Drivers – Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
Races – 24, Wins – 6 (25%), Podiums – 21 (43.6%), Factors – 666
On paper, the 2024 championship options McLaren’s lowest share of race wins throughout their title-winning years. However, as ever, the numbers solely inform a part of the story, with this triumph proving vastly vital within the papaya squad’s historical past.
After Red Bull collected each 2023 titles in one of the crucial dominant performances ever witnessed within the sport, it initially appeared that the Milton Keynes-based outfit had carried that type by means of by surging to a 1-2 within the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
McLaren completed that race nicely off the rostrum – however, after a significant improve to the automotive on the weekend of Lando Norris’ debut victory in Miami, the group quickly grew to become a drive to be reckoned with, taking the combat to Max Verstappen and Purple Bull in each championships.
Whereas the Drivers’ crown in the end proved elusive – and the group made some strategic errors alongside the way in which – McLaren have been in a position to preserve a chasing Ferrari at bay through the Abu Dhabi season finale to safe their first Groups’ title since 1998, a feat that might scarcely have appeared plausible when the squad began 2023 close to the again of the sphere.
5. 1998
Drivers – Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard
Races – 16, Wins – 9 (56.3%), Podiums – 20 (62.5%), Factors – 156
As beforehand talked about, the 2024 success was McLaren’s first Groups’ crown in 26 years, with the final one previous to that additionally marking one thing of a comeback story.
Following their aforementioned 1991 victory, the squad have been overhauled by Williams – and Benetton – within the seasons that adopted. However a change to the technical laws in 1998 was a possibility that McLaren seized, with the MP4-13 proving the category of the sphere when the marketing campaign bought underway.
The group confronted elevated competitors because the season progressed – with this arguably marking the beginning of Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher’s traditional rivalry as they fought for the Drivers’ Championship – and Ferrari have been nonetheless in with an opportunity of taking the crown on the season-closing Japanese Grand Prix.
Nonetheless, a flawless efficiency from Hakkinen at Suzuka – coupled with misfortune for Schumacher, who was compelled to retire after struggling a puncture – secured each titles for McLaren. And whereas the squad couldn’t make it back-to-back Groups’ Championships in 1999, Hakkinen went on to secure another Drivers’ crown.
4. 1989
Drivers – Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna
Races – 16, Wins – 10 (62.5%), Podiums – 18 (56.3%), Factors – 141
As we head in direction of the highest finish of our rating, we now transfer into a few of McLaren’s most dominant championship successes, seasons that additionally introduced with them some actually iconic moments – and battles – alongside the way in which.
The 1989 season marked the second 12 months through which Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna fashioned the group’s line-up, a formidable pairing that had (spoiler alert) already secured title glory through the 1988 marketing campaign.
Whereas new laws outlawing turbocharged engines had come into impact, McLaren appeared to have tackled the change easily as 1989 started, with Senna and Prost claiming six and 4 wins respectively amid one other fierce title combat between the 2.
The Drivers’ Championship resulted in controversy, with Senna being disqualified from the Japanese Grand Prix for reducing a chicane after rejoining the monitor following a collision with Prost, a end result that gave the crown to the latter. However, inside tensions apart, the duo once more introduced dwelling the Groups’ title of their ultimate marketing campaign as group mates.
3. 2025
Drivers – Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
Races – 24 (18 accomplished to date), Wins – 12 (66.7%), Podiums – 28 (77.8%), Factors – 650*
*From season to date
Arguably, the dominance of McLaren on this 12 months’s Groups’ Championship may put this success even greater in our rating. However on condition that the season remains to be enjoying out – and the Drivers’ crown is crucially but to be determined – now we have opted for the quantity 3 spot.
Whereas the 2024 season noticed the papaya squad slowly acquire momentum, there was no such course of this time round, with the group instantly fast out of the blocks at first of the 2025 marketing campaign.
Drivers’ Championship chief Oscar Piastri and group mate Lando Norris have achieved seven and 5 Grand Prix wins respectively to date, which has included a powerful seven 1-2 finishes. This gave McLaren such a sizeable lead over their rivals that the Groups’ title was wrapped up in Singapore, tying with Purple Bull’s 2023 document for the earliest championship win within the sport’s historical past.
There have been hiccups alongside the way in which – and questions stay over how the squad will deal with any tensions which will linger between their drivers following that first-lap incident at Marina Bay – however McLaren’s all-round type in 2025 has been a unprecedented achievement.
2. 1984
Drivers – Niki Lauda and Alain Prost
Races – 16, Wins – 12 (75%), Podiums – 18 (56.3%), Factors – 143.5
McLaren didn’t bother the highest of the standings through the late Nineteen Seventies, the squad occurring to finish the 1980 season down in ninth place. Nonetheless, after becoming a member of the likes of Ferrari in switching to a turbocharged engine, their fortunes began to show round into the ‘80s, culminating in a surprising 1984 marketing campaign.
With Alain Prost returning to companion Niki Lauda – forming one other one of many group’s strongest line-ups – the pair shortly grew to become a dominant drive on the wheel of the MP4/2, a automotive that introduced them an unimaginable 12 victories in 16 races together with a run of seven consecutive wins within the second half of the 12 months.
Whereas Prost had outscored Lauda on victories – claiming seven triumphs over Lauda’s 5 – the Frenchman in the end misplaced out on the Drivers’ Championship by simply half some extent to the Austrian, that means that his debut title needed to wait till 1985.
He did, nonetheless, get to expertise championship glory within the Groups’ class, McLaren storming to the crown – their first in 10 years – on 143.5 factors. To place that dominance into perspective, closest challengers Ferrari had amassed solely 57.5 compared.
1. 1988
Drivers – Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna
Races – 16, Wins – 15 (93.8%), Podiums – 25 (78.1%), Factors – 199
It’s onerous to argue with the notion that the 1988 season marked McLaren’s biggest triumph, a marketing campaign through which an all-star driver line-up – and a brewing rivalry between them – was paired with a benchmark-setting automotive to create magic.
After two years of ending second within the championship, the Woking-based squad bolstered their probabilities of altering that statistic with the MP4/4, a Honda-powered challenger typically touted as one of many greatest cars in Formula 1 history.
With race winner Ayrton Senna becoming a member of the group alongside two-time World Champion Alain Prost, the duo kickstarted a season of utter dominance from the off. In a 16-race calendar, McLaren astonishingly received all however one Grand Prix, seven of those going to Prost whereas eight have been claimed by Senna.
Amid rising tensions with Prost, it was Senna who clinched a maiden Drivers’ Championship by simply three factors, whereas the outfit surged to the Groups’ crown with a complete of 199 factors, giving them a major buffer of 134 factors over second-placed Ferrari.
A few years on, McLaren’s profitable share of that season stays the second biggest within the sport’s historical past – certainly, they continued to carry the document for the best up till simply two years in the past, after they have been bettered by Purple Bull’s 2023 marketing campaign.
Need to have your say on which of McLaren’s Groups’ Championship victories is their biggest? Tell us within the ballot under and get voting!
