The History of the McLaren Mercedes MP4-20

The MP4-20 Formula 1 racing car was built by McLaren for the 2005 season. It was designed by Adrian Newey and Mike Coughlan, and was the last McLaren car to be powered by Mercedes-Benz (producing 920bhp at 19,000rpm) under the Ilmor partnership since the 1995 season. It was also McLaren’s final car to feature the grey and black livery of primary sponsor West cigarettes, a partnership that began with the MP4/12 in 1997.

The car’s chassis was an almost completely new design that incorporated all the lessons learned since the MP4-18 and MP4-19. It featured the revised aerodynamics and suspension set-up required by the 2005 regulations. These included a raised front wing, smaller diffuser and rear wing moved further forward. A shorter wheelbase was utilised to maximise the Michelin tyres’ performance.

This particular car, MP4-20A-07, was driven exclusively by Juan Pablo Montoya. Despite initially struggling to get to grips with the set-up and unusual driving technique the car required due to its groundbreaking aerodynamics, Montoya scored an impressive three wins (at British GP, Silverstone, Italian GP, Monza, and Brazilian GP, Interlagos) and two podiums (second at the German GP, Hockenheim, and third at the Turkish GP, Istanbul).

Sadly the engine suffered reliability problems, which cost Montoya a potential win in Hungary and potential podium finishes in France and China. Continual development throughout the year made the MP4-20 the fastest car in the series from mid-season onwards, as was seen by the number of pole positions and fastest laps accumulated by both Montoya and team-mate Kimi Räikkönen. Räikkönen and McLaren eventually finished second in their respective championships, while Montoya finished fourth in the drivers’ standings.

This MP4-20 was fully restored by McLaren Racing Heritage in 2018 and was shown in its full splendour at Concours of Elegance 2020, where I took this photo. Its restoration is well documented in the book Autocourse: The World’s Leading Grand Prix Annual 2005-2006 by Alan Henry and McLaren – the Cars by William Taylor.

ENGINE

3.0-litre V10 llmor-built Mercedes-Benz FO110R

CONFIGURATION

Mid-mounted longitudinally, McLaren sequential semi-automatic (seven forward plus one reverse), rear-wheel drive, inboard torsion-bar/damper system operated by pushrod and bell crank with double-wishbone arrangement, carbon discs all round