As Oscar crossed the line in Australia as an F1 points scorer for the first time, he joined an illustrious list of 40 drivers to put digits on the board for McLaren in our 60-year history. The fact that he did so in his old backyard, on the other side of the Tasman Sea to our founder, New Zealander Bruce McLaren, made it all the more special.

Oscar would no doubt have preferred to go to Melbourne with points in the bank – but there are worse ways to score for the first time than at your home race, in your home city.

Of the 40 drivers to score points for McLaren, he’s the 10th to score their first-ever points with the team. Over the years, we’ve achieved many milestones, but who blazed the trail that so many have now successfully followed? As part of our 60th-anniversary celebrations, and following on from Oscar’s maiden points, we’ve looked back on some of the most memorable McLaren firsts in history, from our first race to our inaugural title.  

Our first… Formula 1 race: The 1966 Monaco Grand Prix

In the mid-1960s, Bruce McLaren was leading a double life: continuing to drive for Cooper in Formula 1, whilst simultaneously building (and driving) his cars as part of the Bruce McLaren Motor Racing team in series such as Can-Am.

Those two worlds collided for the first time at the 1966 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, the first of nine official races that season. The history books show that Bruce qualified 10th as the only McLaren driver in the field, after a proposed second car for Chris Amon was withdrawn. It was to be a short entry, as our owner/entrant/driver retired after nine laps with an oil leak, but those were nine hugely significant laps, and much, much more was to come.

Ordinarily, McLaren’s debut in F1 would have been trapped in the pages of Motor Sport Magazine, but fortunately, Monaco ’66 is where filming began for the film, Grand Prix. This meant that Bruce’s double life wasn’t quite over yet, with our founder appearing as Pete Aron, one of the characters in the film. It’s also why we made our debut in a white colour scheme with a central green stripe, as those were the colours of the film’s fictional team, Yamura.

For those who wish to go back and watch Grand Prix, you’ll be treated to some unique archive footage of our debut, which includes a glorious helicopter shot of Bruce getting a rocket start.

Our first… podium: The 1968 Spanish Grand Prix

Just like in the modern day, we competed on several fronts in our early years, although it was significantly more challenging at the time, meaning that our first few years as an F1 team proved to be something of a stop-start affair.

That changed in 1968, when Cosworth’s DFV engine became available and provided us with a consistent supply of engines. It also allowed us to expand to a two-car entry, with Bruce tempting fellow Kiwi and reigning World Champion Denny Hulme away from Brabham.

The new car (the DFV-powered M7A) was ready in time for Round 2 in Madrid and it was instantly on the pace, Denny qualifying P3 and Bruce P4. Although 16s behind Lotus’ Graham Hill at the flag, Denny was the only other car on the lead lap when Hill took victory, thus securing McLaren its first podium with second place.

On a very hot day, only five cars finished the race, with the last of those, Jean-Pierre Beltoise, nine laps down at the flag. Bruce was the eighth retirement, stopping with an oil leak after 77 laps – but with his first F1 trophy as an entrant and constructor to take home as consolation.

Our first… victory: The 1968 Belgian Grand Prix

On the balance of probabilities, Denny should probably have been the first McLaren driver to stand on the top step – but, because on occasion fate nods in the direction of theatre, the honour went to Bruce – though he didn’t know it at the time.

Wings were the big topic of conversation. Lotus had used them successfully two weeks earlier in Monaco, and now everybody wanted a go. It wasn’t an entirely scientific process, with cars sprouting aerofoils – some of which were fabricated on the spot – in many different locations. The papaya McLaren M7As were no exception, with mountings for small wings on either side of the nose and another across the tail. 

The cars were competitive at Spa – though the 1968 definition of that is somewhat different to modern times. Denny qualified P5, 6.8s off Chris Amon's pole position for Ferrari, while Bruce was P6, a further 1.7s behind his team-mate. Across 400km, most of it full throttle, starting positions weren’t particularly important. The 28 laps of Spa were more a race of attrition.

Bruce didn't start well, dropping to P11 on the first lap, before slowly hauling himself forward, through a combination of speed, but also reliability, as Bruce’s car survived whilst half the field retired due to mechanical problems. Amon retired with a stone through the radiator, Surtees led until a suspension failure. Jackie Stewart and Denny then swapped the lead several times until Denny retired with a broken halfshaft. That left Stewart in the clear lead, while Bruce battled BRM’s Pedro Rodríguez for the other podium positions, winning that battle with six laps to go.

Approaching the flag, Bruce thought he was second, not realising Stewart was forced into the pits one lap from home to refuel, losing a 24s lead.

Our first… pole position: The 1972 Canadian Grand Prix

That McLaren won five races before taking a pole position is not as quirky a stat as it sounds: the attritional nature of racing in the late 1960s and early 1970s, plus the effectiveness of slipstreaming to overtake, meant pole wasn’t quite as favourable as it is today.

Even so, it was an oddity the team wanted to rectify, and by 1972, we were knocking on the door, with Denny starting from P2 in both Spain and France. It was in the penultimate round of the season at Canada that Peter Revson eventually notched our first pole, finishing 0.3s ahead of his illustrious team-mate in a McLaren one-two.

True to form, pole ended up counting for little in the race, as Jackie Stewart won from fifth, sweeping to victory for Tyrrell, with Revson second and Denny third. Revson obviously liked the track, however, returning to take victory the following season.

Our first… title(s): The 1974 United States Grand Prix

For Formula 1’s younger fans, the 2021 season finale at Yas Marina represents the pinnacle of tension – but the 1974 title race, with very strong parallels, just about pips it.

It’s the only other time in F1 history that the two leaders in the Drivers’ Championship have gone to the final round level on points – but for added drama, the Constructors’ title was also up for grabs.

Emerson Fittipaldi and Ferrari’s Clay Regazzoni were tied on 52 points heading into the finale at the Watkins Glen International circuit in New York, with Tyrrell’s Jody Scheckter not out of the title race on 45. In the Constructors’ Championship, we were five ahead of Ferrari.

The 1974 season had been wide open, with five teams and seven drivers taking victories in the first 14 rounds, heading to the finale. The competitiveness continued into the final race, as Scheckter, Fittipaldi and Regazzoni lined up sixth, eighth and ninth, respectively. Regazzoni’s title chances were spoiled early into the race by a damper problem, which caused him to fall steadily backwards, but Scheckter remained in the hunt.

That ceased to be a problem on Lap 44 when Scheckter retired with a fuel system problem. With Regazzoni now several laps down, Emmo had the title in the bag. And as the other Ferrari of Niki Lauda had already retired, McLaren’s first title was a double.