McLaren MP4/12

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**McLaren MP4/12**

Category	Formula One
Constructor	McLaren
Team/s	West McLaren Mercedes
Designer	Adrian Newey
Drivers	9. Mika Häkkinen 10. David Coulthard
Chassis	carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite structure
Suspension (front)	double wishbones, pushrod-operated inboard coil spring/damper
Suspension (rear)	double wishbones, pushrod-operated inboard coil spring/damper
Engines	Mercedes-Benz FO110E (75°) and FO110F (72°) V10s
Gearbox	McLaren six-speed longitudinal semi-automatic
Fuel	Mobil 1
Tyres	Goodyear
Debut	1997 Australian Grand Prix
Races competed	17
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0
Race victories	3
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	2

The McLaren MP4/12 was the car with which the McLaren Formula One team used to compete in the 1997 Formula One season. It was driven by Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard, who were in their fifth and second seasons with the team respectively.

The car was a totally new machine with engines supplied by Mercedes-Benz for the third year of the Anglo-German alliance. Testing was carried out with the cars painted in the traditional McLaren orange, before a striking new silver livery was launched to celebrate the team's new sponsorship deal with West. This replaced the team's twenty-year association with Marlboro.

The car proved extremely promising and could have won more than five races during the course of the season, but engine reliability proved troublesome. This proved disappointing, especially after Coulthard won the first race of the season in Australia. The situation was exacerbated by Häkkinen retiring from three further races whilst in the lead, including at the Nürburgring, where the team lost a comfortable one-two finish when both cars retired with identical failures within a lap of each other. However, Coulthard did manage to win at Monza.

The team finally claimed the reward of a one-two finish at the season finale after the collision between Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve. This was Häkkinen's first win in F1, and it set him and the team up very well for 1998.

The team eventually finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship, with 63 points.

[edit] Complete Formula One Results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Points	WCC
1997	McLaren	Mercedes V10	G		AUS	BRA	ARG	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	AUT	LUX	JPN	EUR	63	4th
				Mika Häkkinen	3	4	5	6	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	Ret	3	Ret	DSQ	9	Ret	Ret	4	1
				David Coulthard	1	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	7	7	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	1	2	Ret	10	2

[edit] References

AUTOCOURSE 1997-98, Henry, Alan (ed.), Hazleton Publishing Ltd. (1997) ISBN 1-874557-47-0

McLaren Formula One cars

1960s: M2B (1966) | M4B (1967) | M5A (1967-68) | M7A (1967-69) | M7C (1969-71) | M9A (1969)

1970s: M14A (1970-71) | M7D (1970) | M14D (1970) | M19A (1971-73) | M19C (1972-73) | M23 (1974-78) | M26 (1977-79) | M28 (1979) | M29 (1979-81)

1980s: M30 (1980) | M29F (1981) | MP4 (MP4/1) (1981) | MP4/1B (1982) | MP4/1C (E, 1983) | MP4/2 (1984) | MP4/2B (1985) | MP4/2C (1986) | MP4/3 (1987) | MP4/4 (1988) | MP4/5 (1989)

1990s: MP4/5B (1990) | MP4/6 (1991) | MP4/6B (1992) | MP4/7A (1992) | MP4/8 (1993) | MP4/9 (1994) | MP4/10 (B, C, 1995) | MP4/11 (B, 1996) | MP4-12 (1997) | MP4-13 (1998) | MP4-14 (1999) |

2000s: MP4-15 (2000) | MP4-16 (2001) | MP4-17 (2002) | MP4-17D (2003) | MP4-18 (2003) | MP4-19 (B, 2004) | MP4-20 (2005) | MP4-21 (2006)

Cars which competed in the 1997 Formula One season
Williams FW19 \| Ferrari F310B \| Benetton B197 \| McLaren MP4/12 \| Jordan 197 \| Prost JS45 \| Sauber C16 \| Arrows A18 \| Stewart SF01 \| Tyrrell 025 \| Minardi M197 \| Lola T97/30