Bruce McLaren and the team he founded: from New Zealand to Formula 1

Bruce McLaren was a New Zealand racing driver and engineer, born in Auckland in 1937, who founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing in 1963. He won four Grands Prix, one of them for his own team at Spa in 1968, and took two Can-Am titles. He died testing at Goodwood in 1970, aged 32; the team went on without him.

Who was Bruce McLaren?

He was the son of Les "Pop" McLaren and his wife Ruth, whose family ran a service station in Remuera, Auckland. He was born on 30 August 1937.

At nine he was diagnosed with Perthes disease of the hip. Sources differ on how long the treatment lasted, between two and nearly three years, but the result is agreed: his left leg ended up shorter than his right, and he walked with a limp for life.

Motor racing came through the family garage. He worked on an old Austin 7 Ulster with his father and, in 1952, took it to a hillclimb at Muriwai, where he won his class.

How did a boy from Auckland reach Formula 1?

Through a scholarship and Jack Brabham. In 1958 he became the first winner of the New Zealand International Grand Prix Association's "Driver to Europe" prize, which sent him to England and to Cooper.

He made his Grand Prix debut at the 1958 German Grand Prix, joined the works team alongside Brabham in 1959 and ended that year at Sebring, winning the United States Grand Prix after Brabham's car ran out of fuel. At 22 years and 104 days he was the youngest Grand Prix winner, a record that lasted until Fernando Alonso won in Hungary in 2003.

He won again in Argentina in 1960, finished second to Brabham in that year's championship, and won at Monaco in 1962.

Why did Bruce McLaren start his own team?

Because Cooper would not fund the cars he wanted for the Tasman Series, the southern-summer races back home. He formed his own company in 1963 and ran modified Coopers, working with the American Teddy Mayer, and won the 1964 Tasman title.

The season brought tragedy as well. Mayer's brother Timmy, McLaren's team-mate, was killed in practice for the final round at Longford, Tasmania. Teddy Mayer stayed, became the company's largest shareholder and later ran it.

McLaren still drove for Cooper in Formula 1 until the end of 1965. The first McLaren-designed sports car, the M1A, was racing by 1964.

When did McLaren first race and win in Formula 1?

The team debuted at the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix, where McLaren retired his M2B after nine laps with an oil leak. Robin Herd's car used Mallite, a balsa and aluminium composite, and a deal with the makers of the film Grand Prix gave it the white paint with a green stripe, visible here in black and white.

The engines let it down. Neither the Ford V8 nor the Serenissima V8 had enough power and reliability, and a Serenissima failure kept the car out of the Dutch Grand Prix that year. The team's first championship point came with sixth at the British Grand Prix.

The breakthrough arrived with the Cosworth DFV-powered M7A. In 1968, McLaren won the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, his fourth and last Grand Prix win and the team's first. Denny Hulme added two more wins that season.

What did he win outside Formula 1?

Le Mans and Can-Am. In 1966, driving a Ford GT40 Mk II with fellow New Zealander Chris Amon, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Can-Am was where the team was strongest. M6A cars won five of the six races in 1967, with McLaren taking the title, and in 1969 the team won all 11 rounds, McLaren taking six and the title. McLaren cars won the championship five years running, from 1967 to 1971.

He also looked towards the road. In 1969 he built a handful of M6 GT road cars, one for his own use, an early hint of the later McLaren road cars.

What happened to the team after his death?

It carried on. On 2 June 1970, McLaren was testing a new M8D at Goodwood when the rear bodywork came away at about 170 mph and the car crashed. He was 32.

Teddy Mayer took effective control, and Dan Gurney won the first two Can-Am races of that year in the car. The team won its first Constructors' Championship in 1974, and in 2025 it secured its tenth.

In 1964 McLaren wrote that "life is measured in achievement, not in years alone". His name is still on the cars. Test what you know in the McLaren quiz, follow the McLaren timeline, or read why Gordon Murray put the F1 driver in the middle.

FAQ

Who founded McLaren?

Bruce McLaren, a New Zealand driver and engineer, founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing in 1963. Teddy Mayer became a key partner and took over effective control after McLaren's death in 1970.

How did Bruce McLaren die?

He was killed on 2 June 1970 at Goodwood, aged 32, while testing an M8D Can-Am car. The rear bodywork came away at about 170 mph and the car crashed.

How many Grands Prix did Bruce McLaren win?

Four: the United States in 1959, Argentina in 1960, Monaco in 1962 and Belgium in 1968. The last was the first Grand Prix win for his own team.

Was Bruce McLaren the youngest Grand Prix winner?

Yes, for more than four decades. He won at Sebring in 1959 at 22 years and 104 days, and held the record until Fernando Alonso won in Hungary in 2003.

Sources

• A life measured in achievement, Motor Sport (July 2015)
• Celebrating a true hero, Motor Sport (October 2017)
• Bruce McLaren Races, Wins and Teams, F1 History
• Bruce McLaren, Historic Racing
• McLaren wins 2025 F1 Constructors' Championship, Silverstone
• Bruce McLaren, Wikipedia
• McLaren, Wikipedia
• McLaren M2B, Wikipedia