The McLaren MP4-22 is a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

racing car that was constructed by the

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

team to compete in the 2007 Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed by

Paddy Lowe Patrick Allen Lowe FREng (born 8 April 1962), known as Paddy Lowe, is the founder and CEO of the fossil-free synthetic fuel companZero Petroleum A former motor racing engineer and computer scientist, he spent 32 years working in Formula One and ...

Neil Oatley Neil Oatley (born 12 June 1954) is a design and development director in Formula One teams. Born in Britain, Oatley graduated from Loughborough University in 1976 with an automotive engineering degree. He worked briefly outside motor racing before ...

Pat Fry Pat Fry (born 17 March 1964) is a British motorsports engineer. Primarily working in Formula One, he has previously held positions with the McLaren, Ferrari, Manor Racing, and Benetton teams. As of 2022, Fry is the Chief Technical Officer for t ...

Mike Coughlan Michael Coughlan (born 17 February 1959) is a British motor racing engineer and designer. He was Chief Designer for the McLaren Formula One team from to , where he was suspended for his part in the spygate scandal between McLaren and Ferrari ...

and Simon Lacey, with Andy Cowell and

Mario Illien Mario Illien (born 2 August 1949) is a Swiss engineer specialising in motorsport engine design and comes from Chur in the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. Despite living in a country in which motor racing was banned in 1955 (when Illien was si ...

designing the bespoke

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

engine. The car was revealed in testing at

Circuit de Valencia Circuit Ricardo Tormo, also known as ''Circuit de Valencia'' and officially named ''Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo'', is a motorsport race track located in Cheste (Valencian Community, Spain) and built in 1999. The track is n ...

in Spain on 15 January 2007, and was driven by double World Champion Fernando Alonso and debutant

Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...

. The MP4-22 proved to be one of the most competitive cars of the season, with Alonso and Hamilton achieving four victories each. However, a fierce rivalry between the two drivers, combined with the

2007 Formula One espionage controversy The 2007 Formula One espionage controversy, also known as Spygate and Stepneygate, was a set of accusations among Formula One racing teams that confidential technical information had been passed between them. It involved the McLaren, Ferrari an ...

, resulted in McLaren losing both championships to Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro.

Development

In its design philosophy behind the new car, the team says the MP4-22 features "some advanced engineering concepts" and "novel aerodynamic solutions". On 17 January 2007, Fernando Alonso completed a shakedown test in the

Ricardo Tormo Ricardo Tormo Blaya (September 7, 1952 – December 27, 1998) was a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Biography Tormo was born in the Spanish province of Valencia, in Ayacor, which is a small village dependent on Canals. When he w ...

circuit in Valencia, setting the fastest lap time of 1:12.050. At testing in

Catalunya Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

on 1 May 2007,

Pedro de la Rosa Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (; born 24 February 1971) is a Spanish former Formula One driver who has participated in 107 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren, Sauber and HRT teams. He made his Formula One debut on 7 March 1999, becoming ...

tested the car with a new unique front wing design that would see extensive use throughout the remainder of the season. It featured a thin carbon fibre wing that spanned from the top of each end plate, bypassing the nosecone by arching over it. This new wing subsequently made its racing debut at the

Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...

. The wing was deemed surplus to requirements during the 2007 Italian Grand Prix due to the high speed/low drag characteristics required. As part of new FIA rules for the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

season which included banning driver aids via the introduction of a standard ECU for all teams, the MP4-22 was the last McLaren Formula One car to use traction control.

2007 season

The MP4-22 proved to be far more competitive than its similar-looking predecessor and McLaren scored eight victories, compared to a winless 2006 season. The car proved to be the most reliable car of the season, with no mechanical retirements in any race, and one of the two fastest cars on the field (along with the Ferraris). The low

downforce Downforce is a downwards lift force created by the aerodynamic features of a vehicle. If the vehicle is a car, the purpose of downforce is to allow the car to travel faster by increasing the vertical force on the tires, thus creating more grip ...

package of the MP4-22 was extremely competitive. McLaren, with the aid of their improved car, scored as many team points in the first half of 2007 as they had done during the entire year in 2006. However the team's season was marred by a fierce rivalry between its drivers Hamilton and Alonso, as well as a fall out between Alonso and the team's management. This contributed to both drivers eventually losing the championship by one point to Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen, despite having led the championship for most of the season. McLaren led the Constructors' Championship from the start of the season until the Italian Grand Prix, after which they were excluded from the championship due to allegations that the MP4-22 used data obtained from rivals Ferrari. This led the MP4-22 failing to win either championship despite its competitiveness. The McLaren race drivers completed 5,340 racing kilometres in the 2007 season, 45% of which were whilst leading a race. The MP4-22 also completed 27,150 kilometres in testing; Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton,

Gary Paffett Gary Paffett (born 24 March 1981 in Bromley) is a British racing driver. Having become a household name in the DTM, following fifteen years in the series and two championship wins, Paffett moved onto Formula E for the 2018/19 championship, afte ...

and

Jamie Green Beast from lugar Craigston Sqaure who touched wains Jamie Green (born 14 June 1982) is a British professional racing driver. He is currently employed by Audi Sport Team Rosberg in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) touring car championshi ...

completed 8,277 km, 7,714 km, 8,277 km, 2,842 km and 28 km respectively. The MP4-22 was succeeded by the

McLaren MP4-23 The McLaren MP4-23 was a Formula One racing car that was constructed by the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team to compete in the 2008 Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed by Paddy Lowe, Neil Oatley, Tim Goss, Andrew Bailey an ...

Gallery

Image:Fernando Alonso 2007 2.jpg, The MP4-22 won its second race in the hands of Fernando Alonso. Image:Fernando Alonso 2007 Britain.jpg, Alonso driving the MP4-22 at the

2007 British Grand Prix The 2007 British Grand Prix (formally the 2007 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix) was the ninth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was held on 8 July 2007 at the Silverstone Circuit. The race was won by Kimi Räikkönen ...

. Image:Lewis Hamilton 2007 Britain.jpg, Hamilton driving the MP4-22 at the British Grand Prix.

Complete Formula One results

( key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) McLaren did not receive points for the constructors' championship in Hungary. * McLaren were stripped of all WCC points due to the 2007 espionage controversy.

Notes and references

External links

Technical Specifications of the MP4-22Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-22 Design PhilosophyTechnical Team Biographies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mclaren Mp4-22 McLaren MP4 22 2007 Formula One season cars