Bruce McLaren

Bruce Leslie McLaren was born on 30 August, 1937 and was a renowned New Zealand racing car designer, driver, engineer, and inventor. He founded the McLaren team, which remains one of the most successful in Formula 1 history, having since secured 8 World Constructors’ Championships and 12 World Drivers’ Championships. Outside of F1, McLaren cars were also dominant in CanAm sports car racing, achieving 56 wins—many with McLaren himself driving—between 1967 and 1972, and winning five constructors’ championships. Additionally, McLaren cars have triumphed in three Indianapolis 500 races, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Nationality	Australian
Born	Bruce Leslie McLaren 30 August 1937 Auckland, New Zealand
Died	2 June 1970 (aged 32) Goodwood Circuit, Sussex, England

Bruce McLaren’s journey into racing began with his father, Les McLaren, who restored an Austin 7 Ulster. In 1952, a 14-year-old Bruce used this car to compete in his first event, a hill climb at Muriwai, where he won the 750 cc class. Two years later, he entered his first real race and demonstrated significant promise. Progressing from the Austin to a Ford 10 special and then to an Austin-Healey, Bruce eventually drove a Formula 2 Cooper-Climax. His talent and modifications to the car led him to become the runner-up in the 1957–58 New Zealand championship series.

Bruce’s impressive performance in the 1958 New Zealand Grand Prix caught the attention of Australian driver Jack Brabham, who would later invite him to join his then-team, Cooper. Recognising his potential, the New Zealand International Grand Prix organization selected Bruce for its ‘Driver to Europe’ scheme, aimed at giving a promising Kiwi driver international experience. He was the first recipient, paving the way for others like Denny Hulme. Bruce joined Cooper and stayed for seven years, racing in F2 and making an impact by finishing as the top F2 driver and fifth overall in a combined F2 and F1 race at the Nürburgring.

In 1959, Bruce joined the Cooper factory F1 team alongside Jack Brabham and won the 1959 United States Grand Prix at the age of 22 years and 104 days, becoming the youngest Grand Prix winner at that time. This record stood until Fernando Alonso won at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix. Bruce continued to show promise, winning the 1960 Argentine Grand Prix, the first race of the 1960 season, and finishing runner-up in the ’60 championship to Brabham. Two years later Bruce won the 1962 Monaco Grand Prix and ultimately finished third in the 1962 championship. In 1963, he founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd, which is known today as McLaren but continued to race and win with Cooper, including a victory in the 1964 New Zealand Grand Prix.

At the end of the 1965 season, Bruce left Cooper to form his own Grand Prix racing team, partnering with fellow Kiwi Chris Amon. By 1968, Bruce achieved his fourth career win at Spa, driving his own McLaren car to the team’s first Grand Prix victory, with fellow Kiwi Denny Hulme securing two additional wins that season. The 1969 championship saw continued success, with Bruce finishing third in the standings despite not winning any races. In homage to his homeland, Bruce’s cars featured the distinctive “speedy Kiwi” logo.

Alongside his Formula 1 ambitions, Bruce McLaren also built and raced sports cars. In 1966, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Ford GT40, partnered with Chris Amon. His distinctive, loud, orange Can-Am cars dominated the North American series for years, securing the championship title for five consecutive seasons from 1967 to 1971.

At the start of the 1970 season, Bruce confided to friends that he planned to retire from racing at the end of the year to focus on his business. Tragically, on June 2, 1970, while testing the team’s powerful new Can-Am car just two weeks before the opening race of the series, he lost control when the rear bodywork came loose. The car crashed into a marshal’s post, and Bruce was killed instantly.

Bruce McLaren Formula One World Championship career

F1 Career	1958–1970
Teams	Cooper, McLaren, Eagle
Entries	104 (100 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	4
Podiums	27
Career points	188.5 (196.5)
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	3
First entry	1958 German Grand Prix
First win	1959 United States Grand Prix
Last win	1968 Belgian Grand Prix
Last entry	1970 Monaco Grand Prix

Bruce McLaren Teammates

16 drivers	Involvement	First Year	Last Year
Masten Gregory	5	1959
Jack Brabham	23	1959	1961
Giorgio Scarlatti	1	1959
Chuck Daigh	1	1960
Ron Flockhart	1	1960
Tony Maggs	19	1962	1963
Tim Mayer	1	1962
Phil Hill	9	1964
John Love	1	1964
Jochen Rindt	10	1965
Chris Amon	4	1966
Dan Gurney	3	1967
Denny Hulme	25	1968	1970
Derek Bell	1	1969
Andrea de Adamich	3	1970
Peter Gethin	1	1970

Race Wins

Win Number	Grand Prix
1	1959 United States Grand Prix
2	1960 Argentine Grand Prix
3	1962 Monaco Grand Prix
4	1968 Belgian Grand Prix

Complete Formula One Results

Up until 1990, not all points scored by a driver contributed to their final World Championship tally (see list of points scoring systems for more information). Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	WDC	Pts.
1958	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T45 F2	Climax Straight-4	ARG	MON	NED	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER 5*	POR	ITA	MOR 13			NC	0*
1959	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T45	Climax Straight-4	MON 5	500	NED											6th	16.5
		Cooper T51	Climax Straight-4				FRA 5	GBR 3	GER Ret	POR Ret	ITA Ret	USA 1
1960	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T51	Climax Straight-4	ARG 1													2nd	34 (37)
		Cooper T53	Climax Straight-4		MON 2	500	NED Ret	BEL 2	FRA 3	GBR 4	POR 2	ITA	USA 3
1961	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T55	Climax Straight-4	MON 6	NED 12	BEL Ret	FRA 5	GBR 8	GER 6	ITA 3	USA 4						8th	11
1962	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T60	Climax V8	NED Ret	MON 1	BEL Ret	FRA 4	GBR 3	GER 5	ITA 3	USA 3	RSA 2					3rd	27 (32)
1963	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T66	Climax V8	MON 3	BEL 2	NED Ret	FRA 12	GBR Ret	GER Ret	ITA 3	USA 11	MEX Ret	RSA 4				6th	17
1964	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T66	Climax V8	MON Ret													7th	13
		Cooper T73	Climax V8		NED 7	BEL 2	FRA 6	GBR Ret	GER Ret	AUT Ret	ITA 2	USA Ret	MEX 7
1965	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T73	Climax V8	RSA 5													9th	10
		Cooper T77	Climax V8		MON 5	BEL 3	FRA Ret	GBR 10	NED Ret	GER Ret	ITA 5	USA Ret	MEX Ret
1966	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren M2B	Ford V8	MON Ret							USA 5	MEX Ret					16th	3
		McLaren M2B	Serenissima V8		BEL DNS	FRA	GBR 6	NED DNS	GER	ITA
1967	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren M4B	BRM V8	RSA	MON 4	NED Ret	BEL										14th	3
	Anglo American Racers	Eagle T1G	Weslake V12					FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret
	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren M5A	BRM V12								CAN 7	ITA Ret	USA Ret	MEX Ret
1968	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren M7A	Cosworth V8	RSA	ESP Ret	MON Ret	BEL 1	NED Ret	FRA 8	GBR 7	GER 13	ITA Ret	CAN 2	USA 6	MEX 2		5th	22
1969	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren M7B	Cosworth V8	RSA 5													3rd	26
		McLaren M7C	Cosworth V8		ESP 2	MON 5	NED Ret	FRA 4	GBR 3	GER 3	ITA 4	CAN 5	USA DNS	MEX DNS
1970	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren M14A	Cosworth V8	RSA Ret	ESP 2	MON Ret	BEL	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA	MEX	14th	6