McLaren MP4 / 4

McLaren MP4 / 4

Alain Prost's McLaren MP4 / 4
Constructor:	McLaren
Designer:	Steve Nichols
Predecessor:	McLaren MP4 / 3
Successor:	McLaren MP4 / 5
Technical specifications
Chassis:	Monocoque
Engine:	Honda RA168E, 80 ° V6 engine, 1.5 liters
Length:	4450 mm
Width:	2150 mm
Height:	940 mm
Wheelbase:	2875 mm
Weight:	540 kg
Tires:	Goodyear
Petrol:	Shell
statistics
Driver:	Alain Prost Ayrton Senna
First start:	1988 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last start:	1988 Australian Grand Prix
Starts Victories Poles SR 16 15th 15th 10
World Cup points:	199
Podiums:	25th
Leadership laps:	kA / tba

The McLaren MP4 / 4 is a Formula 1 racing car from the McLaren team that was used in the 1988 World Cup . With the car developed by Steve Nichols , Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna won 15 of the 16 races of the season and posted 15 pole positions and ten fastest laps.

The Honda RA168E

Senna in the MP4 / 4 at the 1988 Canadian GP

The MP4 / 4 was powered by a V6 engine from Honda with an 80 ° cylinder bank angle and the type designation RA168E. The longitudinally mounted twin turbo - mid-engine had 1500 cc. The power transmission was carried out by a manually shifted 6-speed transmission from McLaren's in-house production. The monocoque was made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic .

The flat design of the MP4 / 4 was based on the Brabham BT55 by Gordon Murray . The aim was to direct as much air as possible onto the rear wing through the small frontal area of ​​the car and thus generate more downforce. The concept had not brought the desired success at Brabham due to problems with the gasoline supply of the horizontally installed 4-cylinder in- line engine from BMW . With the V6 from Honda, these difficulties did not arise due to the design.

The 1988 season was the last one in which turbo engines were allowed until the 2014 regulations were changed. While most of the other teams had already shifted part of their development capacities to the construction of naturally aspirated cars for the following season, McLaren built a car that was uncompromisingly designed for the more compact turbos and, together with the most powerful engine in the field at the time, was the basis for the dominance of the team.

Trivia

Due to its success and dominance during the 1988 season, the McLaren MP4 / 4 is often referred to as “The best Formula 1 car of all time”, “Iconic Car” and “Greatest of all times” even in the specialist press. From a technical point of view, however, such statements should be viewed with a certain amount of skepticism .

Results

driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	Points	rank
1988 Formula 1 season																		199	1.
A. Cheers	11	1	2	1	1	2	2	1	DNF	2	( 2 )	(2)	DNF	1	1	(2)	1
A. Senna	12	DSQ	1	DNF	2	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	10 *	(6)	(4)	1	2

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

literature

• Peter Higham: Formula 1: Car by Car 1980-89. RACE POINT PUB, London 2018, ISBN 978-1-91050-523-6 .

Web links

Commons : McLaren MP4 / 4  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• McLaren MP4 / 4 statistics
• YouTube: "Step inside the MP4 / 4" : Explanations on the technology of the MP4 / 4 (English)
• YouTube: "The argument behind F1's most dominant car: Origin story of the MP4 / 4" (English)
• YouTube: "McLaren Honda MP4 / 4 (1988 late) vol.2 - Ultimate V6 Turbo engine" : Uncut raw material from test drives in Japan

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Michael Schmidt: The best Formula 1 car of all time. auto motor sport, February 11, 2014, accessed January 25, 2020 . 
2. ^ Autosport: The argument behind F1's most dominant car: Origin story of the MP4 / 4. Autosport, October 12, 2018, accessed January 25, 2020 . 
3. ↑ HondaVideo: The Best Formula 1 Car Ever? The McLaren-Honda MP4 / 4 with Louise Goodman. HondaVideo, October 11, 2019, accessed January 25, 2020 .