And yet the McLaren’s last Formula 1 world titles dates to 1999 when Mika Hakkinen won the drivers’ title, and the year before when McLaren won both the drivers' and the constructors' titles, also with Hakkinen.
In one way, what happened to McLaren since then may be summed up in a word: Ferrari. From 1999 to 2004 Ferrari won all the constructors' titles, and from 2000 to 2004 all of the drivers' titles, with Michael Schumacher. Renault and Alonso then won both titles in 2005 and 2006.
Where McLaren Really Stands
In fact, in 2005 McLaren won 10 races — or more than any other team that year. In 2003 the title went to the last race as Kimi Raikkonen in a McLaren challenged Schumacher for the title, but failed.
Raikkonen's advantage in 2003 was a reliable car. His problem in 2005, was that the car broke down too often — including on the last lap of the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring while he was leading the race. With better reliability, he might have won the title. He finished second in the drivers' series, as did McLaren in the constructors’ series, only nine points behind Renault.
One of the team’s biggest challenges is to find the right balance of reliability versus speed. Teams can make very fast engines overnight, but they sacrifice reliability if they create the fast engine too quickly. This is where Ferrari succeeded over the same period, along with having the best driver.
