 The MP4/4 of Ayrton Senna | |||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | McLaren (chassis) Honda (engine) | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | Gordon Murray (Technical Director) Steve Nichols (Chief Designer, Lead Engineer) Bob Bell (Chief Aerodynamicist) Osamu Goto (Engine Technical Director (Honda)) | ||||||||
| Predecessor | MP4/3 | ||||||||
| Successor | MP4/5 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications[1][2][3] | |||||||||
| Chassis | Carbon fibre honeycomb monocoque | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbones, pull/push-rod actuated coil springs and dampers | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Double wishbones, rocker-arm actuated coil springs and dampers | ||||||||
| Axle track | Front: 1,824 mm (71.8 in) Rear: 1,670 mm (66 in) | ||||||||
| Wheelbase | 2,875 mm (113.2 in) | ||||||||
| Engine | Honda RA168E, 1,494 cc (91.2 cu in), 80° turbocharged V6 (2.5 Bar limited), mid-engine, longitudinally mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | Weismann-McLaren 6-Speed manual | ||||||||
| Power | 675 hp (503 kW) @ 12,500 rpm[4] | ||||||||
| Weight | 540 kg (1,190.5 lb) | ||||||||
| Fuel | Shell | ||||||||
| Tyres | Goodyear | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Honda Marlboro McLaren | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | 11.  Alain Prost12.  Ayrton Senna | ||||||||
| Debut | 1988 Brazilian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| First win | 1988 Brazilian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| Last win | 1988 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| Last event | 1988 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 1 (1988) | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 1 (1988, Ayrton Senna) | ||||||||
The McLaren MP4/4, also known as the McLaren-Honda MP4/4, is one of the most successful Formula One car designs of all time. Powered by Honda's RA168E 1.5-litre V6-turbo engine and driven by teammates Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, the car competed during the 1988 Formula One season. The design of the car was led by American engineer Steve Nichols, the full responsibility for the design of the chassis having been conferred on him by Ron Dennis. Gordon Murray, as Technical Director, had the role of liaising between the drawing office and production.
Honda had made the Constructors' Championship-winning engines of 1986 and 1987, and for 1988 they switched partners from Williams to McLaren, who had struggled with their dated TAG-Porsche engines. The engine's design and development was led by Osamu Goto. The MP4/4 became distinctly lower than the previous year's MP4/3, forcing the drivers into a more reclined, almost lying down driving position.
The Honda-powered MP4/4 is one of the most dominant Formula One cars ever built, winning all but one race and claiming all but one pole position in the 1988 season.[5] The team won the year's constructors' title with about three times as many points as runners-up Ferrari. The car held the record for the highest win rate in a season until 2023, when the record was broken by the Red Bull Racing RB19, which was also powered by a Honda V6 turbocharged engine (95.45% win rate). It holds the record for highest percentage of laps led in a season with 97.3% (1,003 out of 1,031).[6]
- ^ "1988 McLaren MP4/4 Honda - Images, Specifications and Information". Ultimatecarpage.com. 24 June 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
- ^ "Weismann McLaren F1 Car Transaxle". f1chronicle.com. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ "The 1988 Prost / Senna McLaren MP4/4 - Disassembling The Greatest F1 Car With The Men Who Made It". YouTube. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ "Engine Honda • STATS F1".
- ^ "McLaren Timeline '80s". Archived from the original on 1 August 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ "Statistics Constructors - Lead Laps in a year". statsf1.com. Retrieved 8 December 2023.