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Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard
Agreeing terms with Mercedes after some engine-hopping, signing David Coulthard to partner Mika Hakkinen and adding Adrian Newey to a talented technical department all played their part in McLaren’s next – and to this day most recent – phase as overall champions.
With Newey’s first McLaren hitting the ground running in 1998, Hakkinen and Coulthard came out on top against Ferrari pairing Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine in the constructors’ battle – Hakkinen also winning the drivers’ title over Schumacher.
1999 ORAL HISTORY: Part 1 – McLaren vs Ferrari, Hakkinen vs Schumacher, and drama at Silverstone
Hakkinen would make it two drivers’ titles in two years at the end of a dramatic 1999 season, which featured a leg-breaking crash for Schumacher, but the Scuderia prevented McLaren from taking back-to-back constructors’ crowns by just four points.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri?
Some 16 years on from that ’98 title win, McLaren now find themselves with a golden opportunity to add to their championship haul – Norris and Piastri both becoming Grand Prix winners in 2024 and putting the team 41 points clear of Red Bull with six rounds remaining. Can they see it through to the end? Only time will tell…
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