McLaren’s 176 wins in Formula 1 is second only to Ferrari’s. And it’s a fraction of their overall tally.
“McLaren: The Wins” list over 600 victories for the squad which also includes IndyCars, sports car racing, Formula Two, Formula Three, Formula 5000 and the spectacular by now-defunct Can-Am championship where they enjoyed so much early success.
The book adopts a similar format to “McLaren: The Cars”, and lists all the team’s victories chronologically. Extra space is given over to landmark or especially memorable wins.
As well as a selection of superb period photography, covers from event programmes, racing magazines and newspapers recapture the look of the time. I even spotted a Red Bulletin in there.
Published in the middle of last year, their most recent triumph in its pages is Lewis Hamilton’s Chinese Grand Prix victory last year – Jenson Button’s similarly thrilling win in Canada last year came after it went for publication.
Fitting over 600 wins into 300 pages is clearly a considerable effort. All the same I’d have liked to see a few more quotes from the winners, particularly on the team’s more famous races.
And although one of the indices includes a breakdown by Formula, these could have been included next to every entry for easier reference.
Those drawbacks aside, this is a superb reference guide to the many successes of one of the sport’s greatest teams. Here’s hoping Ferrari publish a similar title one day.
F1 Fanatic rating
McLaren: The Wins
Author: David Tremayne
Publisher: Coterie Press
Published: 2011
Price: �49.95
ISBN:9781902351445
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Nick.UK (@)
3rd June 2012, 18:55
I would love to spend some time going over this! Although £50 is a bit steep for a book!
Sushi Meerkat (@sushi-meerkat)
4th June 2012, 0:55
being a fellow F1Fanatic if I had it I’d gladly send it your way, but you are right, £50 sterling is pretty extravagant for a book… not sure if The Big Chief Collantine took the price into consideration when reviewing it.
I’m not sure who this book is aimed at when its at such a hefty price, I’d be embarrassed to have such a pricey book next to some novels on my bookshelf.
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
5th June 2012, 15:03
You should see the Ferrari Opus book:
50cmx50cm, 38kg, and prices range from £2,000- about £4,000 I think
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
20th May 2013, 9:03
@nick-uk @sushi-meerkat Of course I take the price into consideration, though it’s worth bearing in mind books can usually be bought for far less than their retail price online. I see the sale price for this book is now half the cover price, making it far better value
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
4th June 2012, 12:40
The price is pretty steep though I imagine it would be a perfect gift for Christmas for a huge McLaren fan.
apole
4th June 2012, 15:10
Is Aloonso in the book? lol
Optimaximal (@optimaximal)
13th March 2013, 11:39
This seems like the perfect idea for an e-book that they keep updated regularly and (FOM-permitting) includes video interviews and footage of the race.
TommyB (@tommyb89)
13th March 2013, 11:51
I assume the next publication will be “McLaren: The Championships.” The final chapter will be a short one.