McLaren's march to 1000 grands prix: Iconic defeat' a 'missing race', and Lewis Hamilton glory

The 2026 Monaco Grand Prix represents McLaren's 1,000th start in Formula 1, at the same location it made its first 60 years ago. 

With this in mind, RacingNews365 has gone through the archives to find some of the most memorable races for the team - and whittled it down to 14 standouts!

Check out our list below!

Race #1 - Monaco 1966

Where is all began...

Having worked with Jack Brabham at Cooper, Bruce McLaren followed his fellow antipodean in forming an eponymous F1 team - which debuted at the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix. 

With a Ford engine bolted in the back, Bruce only made it nine laps before an oil leak ended his afternoon, but everyone has to start somewhere.

Race #14 - Belgium 1968

McLaren himself would go onto score McLaren's first points at the 1966 British GP, and Denny Hulme got the first podium at the 1968 Spanish GP, but, fittingly, it was Bruce himself who took the first McLaren win. 

At Spa, he eased to a comfortable win from sixth on the grid, taking the first of 203 wins, as of the 2026 Canadian GP. 

Race #98 - United States 1974

After Bruce was killed in June 1970, testing a Can-Am car at Goodwood, his team continued with some trusted lieutenants, and four years later, Emerson Fittipaldi delivered the first championship titles.

He entered the final race level on points with Clay Regazzoni, but McLaren and Emmo would leave Watkins Glen as champions after he finished fourth and the Ferrari was only 11th. 

It would not be the first time a McLaren beat a Ferrari to a world championship...

Race #128 - Japan 1976

A season so iconic it became immortalised by Hollywood in 2013 through Rush, the 1976 title decider between James Hunt and Niki Lauda was a story even Spielberg couldn't come up with. 

McLaren needed a new driver for 1976 after Fittipaldi defected to his brother's Copersucar team, with Briton Hunt giving the call-up to take the fight to reigning world champion Lauda, who started the campaign with six wins, two seconds, and a third from the first nine races.

Hunt had just two wins, a second, and a fifth, and was, by modern points scoring, 98 points behind Lauda after the Ferrari inherited his British GP win after Hunt was disqualified. 

Come the German GP, Lauda suffered his terrible fiery accident, and was out of action for three races, returning in Italy with his wounds still raw just six weeks later.

Hunt began strong run of form, but still headed to the first Japanese GP three points behind.

Lauda memorably dropped out in the early stages, citing it was too dangerous to continue, as Hunt eventually finished third, for four points, and the 1976 drivers' title.

Race #250 - Portugal 1984

McLaren's quarter-millennium came at the end of 1984 and was the first title delivered under the leadership of Ron Dennis. 

Dennis is the most successful F1 team principal of all-time with 158 wins, 10 drivers' and seven constructors' crowns between 1981 and 2009, but Lauda delivered his first championship wins. 

He famously beat Alain Prost by just 0.5 points in the 1984 title race, owing to Monaco being half-distance, and thus half-points, but Prost would rebound to win the 1985 and 1986 titles. 

But, perhaps in some foreshadowing, the two McLaren champions of the mid-1980s were joined by a rookie in third place on the podium of the 1984 Portuguese GP. His name? Ayrton Senna...

Race #310 - Italy 1988

To this day, the 1988 McLaren MP4/4 is one of F1's true iconic machines, and it won 15 of 16 races and led 1,003 of 1,031 laps in the season, a strike rate of 97.28%, which remains unbeaten to this day. 

This was the car in which Senna delivered his crushing Monaco qualifying performance, out-qualifying Prost by 1.428s and in which he would claim his first world title, but the year is perhaps best remembered for the race McLaren didn't win.

That came at Monza, just four weeks after the death of Enzo Ferrari. 

Prost dropped out with engine trouble whilst leader Senna was tripped up when lapping back-marker Jean-Louis Schlesser and retired.

The end result? Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto led a Ferrari one-two. Maybe, the old man, just as he had always done, was still pulling the strings.

Race #329 - Japan 1989

It was all just a matter of time before Senna vs Prost exploded, and after tensions boiled over through the year, it all came to a head at Suzuka - Honda's home race. 

Senna needed to win to take the title defence to the final race, whereas, if he failed to finish, Prost would be champion, with the Frenchman painstakingly setting his car up for the race. 

Senna finally got a run on Prost heading into the final chicane, where the door was firmly closed on him as the two collided. 

Prost retired, Senna won on the road after pitting for a new front-wing, but was then disqualified for cutting the chicane. 

The effects of that decision were only seen in full 12 months later, when, Senna tried to go through on the inside, and, it happened immediately...

Race #394 - Australia 1993

After trying his hardest to get into a Williams for 1993, Senna stayed at McLaren, and was paid $1 million a race. 

Despite five wins, he could not defeat Prost to the championship, but his great rival retired, and cleared the path for 1994. 

But there was no-way Senna would leave McLaren without a final win, taking his 35th McLaren victory in his final race for the team in Adelaide.

It was a true end of an era, as with Prost finishing second, he pulled the Frenchman on to the top step of the podium. 

Although nobody knew it at the time, it would be the last podium to ever feature Senna or Prost.

Race #476 - Japan 1998

After entering the doldrums of the mid-1990s, including an ill-fated spell with Peugeot engines in 1994, McLaren finally had a works engine deal again with Mercedes.

The old Marlboro branding had been ditched for West silver for 1997, when the team won, but in 1998, Mika Hakkinen delivered title glory once again for the first time since Senna's third in 1991.

The Adrian Newey-designed MP4-13 defeated Michael Schumacher and Ferrari to guide Hakkinen to the title, three years after he was nearly killed in a practice crash at the 1995 Australian GP. 

Race #586 - United States 2005

The questionable race over whether Monaco 2026 is #999 or #1000.

Officially, the 2005 United States GP was started by six cars, none of which were a McLaren, as Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen posted a DNS each over the Michelin tyre safety fears.

However, McLaren officially counts this as race start number #586 owing to the fact that both drivers took the green light to start the formation lap. 

It leaves the 1966 Belgian and Dutch, the 1983 Monaco (where Lauda and John Watson failed to qualify), and the 2026 Chinese Grands Prix as the four races McLaren has officially failed to start since Monaco 1966.

Race #649 - Brazil 2008

Is that?

After the Schumacher juggernaut of the early 2000s, McLaren finally ended the drought in 2008 with Lewis Hamilton. 

He arguably should have won in his 2007 rookie season, but with Spygate and intra-team tensions with Fernando Alonso, Raikkonen stole in at the last to sneak the title to Ferrari. 

And Hamilton so nearly allowed Felipe Massa to do the same 12 months later - only winning the title on the final corner of the final lap of the final race of the season - in Massa's hometown. 

Yes, that was Glock. 

Race #895 - Italy 2021

Although the early 2010s McLarens were capable of winning races, neither Hamilton or Jenson Button could piece together a title-winning campaign, and by the end of 2012, McLaren entered a spiral. 

Button's win at the 2012 Brazilian GP (Race #724) was the team's last for nearly a decade as it went through the Honda horrors and a massive rebuilding under Zak Brown. 

As Hamilton, now a seven-time champion at Mercedes, and Max Verstappen did battle at Monza, the Red Bull landing on top of the Mercedes, this opened the path for McLaren to win the grand prix.

It would not be homegrown favourite Lando Norris, however, but rather Daniel Ricciardo's final swansong to end the drought and finally record race victory number #183.

Race #971 - Abu Dhabi 2024

The end of the 2024 F1 season had only the constructors' crown up for grabs, and it was down to McLaren or Ferrari. 

Although Verstappen caused some tense moments after tipping Oscar Piastri into a Turn 1 spin, Norris drove a perfect race to win and deliver McLaren its first constructors' title since 1998. 

Remarkably, this was the first constructors' title in the lifetime of either McLaren driver, but after securing its ninth constructors' title, the goal for 2025 was clear: win the drivers' and retain the constructors'.

Race #995 - Abu Dhabi 2025

This, Norris, just about managed to do.

The MCL39 wrapped up the constructors' in Singapore, but the drivers' fight went down to the death against a charging Verstappen, who had been 104 points behind Piastri with nine races remaining.

Piastri crumbled away as Norris and Verstappen went head-to-head, although McLaren's double DSQ in Las Vegas and baffling Qatar strategy call handed the Dutchman a massive boost.

In the end, Norris won the title by just two points. 

But all the history books would record, is that for the first time since 1998, a McLaren Formula 1 driver was world champion and McLaren was constructors' champions.