The McLaren M19A 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 built and run by McLaren in three World Championship seasons between 1971 and

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

. The C version (an extension of the A car) was used in the and 1973 seasons.

Design

With

Gordon Coppuck Gordon Coppuck (born 8 December 1936 in Fleet, Hampshire) is a British racing car designer who was chief designer for McLaren and later worked for March and co-founded Spirit. Born in December 1936, he attended Queen Mary's School for Boys b ...

preoccupied by designing the

McLaren M16 The McLaren M16 was a race car designed and built by McLaren between 1971 and 1976 for American open wheel racing. It is the most successful car of the 1970s at the Indianapolis 500 with three wins in 1972, 1974 and 1976 and the last one to win ...

Indianapolis 500 car, the task of designing an all-new Formula 1 car for 1971 fell on Ralph Bellamy. The result was a distinctive car that was nicknamed "The Alligator Car". The pear-shaped cockpit sides that led to this nickname were a result of placing two of the car's three fuel tanks alongside the driver. The M19A used inboard coilover shocks for the front and rear suspension, which were actuated through a swinging link that gave an increasing spring rate as the springs were compressed. This linkage was dropped in favor of a conventional system with the M19C. The M19A and M19C both used a mid-mounted

Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had fo ...

V8 and Hewland 5-speed manual gearbox.

Competition history

1971

The McLaren M19A debuted at the 1971 South African Grand Prix with

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

world champion

Denny Hulme Denis Clive Hulme (18 June 1936 – 4 October 1992), commonly known as Denny Hulme, was a New Zealand racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his f ...

driving.

Peter Gethin Peter Kenneth Gethin (21 February 1940 – 5 December 2011) was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 31 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 21 June 1970. He won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix in the fastest ...

continued driving a

McLaren M14A The McLaren M14A is a Formula One racing car built and raced by McLaren in the 1970 World Championship and the 1971 World Championship. A later extension, the McLaren M14D featured a V8 Alfa Romeo engine. Design M14A The M14A was an evolutio ...

until a second M19A was built for the Dutch Grand Prix.

Jackie Oliver Keith Jack "Jackie" Oliver (born 14 August 1942 in Chadwell Heath, Essex) is a British former Formula One driver and team-owner from England. He became known as the founder of the Arrows team as well as a racing driver, although during his d ...

took over driving the second McLaren for the Austrian Grand Prix after Gethin left to drive for BRM. Hulme scored the M19's first fastest lap at the

Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix du Canada) is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a spor ...

, but a string of reliability issues had left McLaren placing only sixth in the Constructor's Championship. The second car was sponsored by Penske-White Racing for the

and

United States Grand Prix The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...

. Mark Donohue made his Formula 1 debut in that car at Canada, finishing third. David Hobbs drove the car for the United States Grand Prix.

1972

McLaren gained a new sponsor for the 1972 Formula One season, the cosmetics and perfume company

Yardley of London Yardley of London (usually referred to simply as Yardley or Yardleys) is a British personal care brand and one of the oldest firms in the world to specialise in cosmetics, fragrances and related toiletry products. Established in 1770,

. The cars were repainted white to reflect this new sponsorship, with only the side fuel tanks continuing to be painted in the traditional McLaren orange. The season began on a high note with Denny Hulme finishing the

Argentine Grand Prix The Argentine Grand Prix (Spanish: ''Gran Premio de Argentina'') was a round of the Formula One championship, held intermittently from to , all at the same autodrome in the Argentine national capital of Buenos Aires. Origins and history The B ...

in second place, the first podium finish for a McLaren M19.

Peter Revson Peter Jeffrey Revson (February 27, 1939 – March 22, 1974) was an American race car driver and heir to the Revlon cosmetics fortune. He was a two-time Formula One race winner and had success at the Indianapolis 500. Background Peter Revson w ...

made his McLaren debut in the second car. The next race proved even better, with both drivers on the podium and Hulme taking both his and McLaren's first win since the 1969 Mexican Grand Prix. The modified M19C made its debut at

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

in the hands of Denny Hulme, with Revson and

Brian Redman Brian Herman Thomas Redman (born 9 March 1937 in Burnley, Lancashire and educated at Rossall School, Fleetwood, Lancashire), is a retired British racing driver. Racing for Carl Haas and Jim Hall's Chaparral Cars, Brian Redman won the 1974, '75 ...

continuing to use the M19A until the Austrian Grand Prix. Revson claimed pole position at the

, McLaren's first ever pole position. Increased reliability over 1971 and a string of podium finishes secured third place in the 1972 Constructor's Championship for McLaren. Future world champion

Jody Scheckter Jody David Scheckter (born 29 January 1950) is a South African business proprietor and former motor racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980, winning the Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari. Scheckter remains the only Afri ...

made his Formula 1 debut in a M19A at the

1973

McLaren began the

1973 Formula One season The 1973 Formula One season was the 27th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, which were contested concurrently over a fifteen-race seriesRe ...

with both Denny Hulme and Peter Revson continuing to drive the M19C. Revson switched to a M19A for the Brazilian Grand Prix, then Hulme was given the new

McLaren M23 The McLaren M23 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Coppuck, with input from John Barnard, and built by the McLaren team. It was a development of the McLaren M16 Indianapolis 500 car. A Ford Cosworth DFV engine was used, which wa ...

for the

South African Grand Prix The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Richard "Dick" Seaman, R ...

. Hulme qualified the M23 on pole and finished fifth, with Revson and Jody Scheckter finishing in second and ninth place in the two M19C's, giving the M19 its 13th and final podium finish. This race would prove to be the last race for a McLaren M19.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ** 36 points in scored using the

References

External links

{{F1 cars 1973 McLaren Formula One cars 1971 Formula One season cars 1972 Formula One season cars 1973 Formula One season cars