The good, the bad and the Papaya

Most of us are aware that Formula 1 is a widely popular racing series, possibly the most popular one worldwide. Automobile brands strive to participate in this series to promote themselves as 'successful' and 'innovative'. Many car brands, including Toyota, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Mercedes, Aston Martin, and others, have tried their luck with Formula 1. While some were successful, others were very successful, and some turned out to be disastrous.

When you think about Formula 1, the red Ferrari will most likely come to your mind. Scuderia Ferrari is undoubtedly the legend of Formula 1. Ferrari came into the automobile industry as a racing team, led by Enzo Ferrari. But for some, when Formula 1 is mentioned, they will recognize either a papaya orange or a red and chrome McLaren.

McLaren, although not as successful as Ferrari, is still considered one of the giants in the world of Formula 1. Like Ferrari, McLaren was established as a racing team in 1963 by Bruce McLaren to compete in championships. Despite McLaren's successful history in Formula 1, their first championship was won in the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am).

After Bruce McLaren's tragic death in a 1970 Can-Am testing accident, Teddy Mayer took over and eventually led the McLaren F1 Team to their first Formula 1 championships in 1974. Emerson Fittipaldi, driving the white-red McLaren with Marlboro branding, secured McLaren's first drivers' championship. James Hunt then clinched the team's second drivers' championship in 1976, but McLaren faced tough times in the following years. It wasn't until 1984 that they were able to win another championship. Under Ron Dennis' leadership, the team flourished, marking the start of McLaren F1's most successful era, with legendary drivers like Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, and Ayrton Senna winning multiple championships over the years.

In 1988, McLaren won all but one race with the Prost and Senna duo. However, the rivalry between Prost and Senna led to Prost leaving McLaren for Ferrari. In 1991, Ayrton Senna won his third and final championship with McLaren, but the team failed to defend their title. After a 7-year drought, McLaren secured the championship in 1998 and 1999 with Mercedes-Benz engines and West tobacco sponsorship, with Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard as the pilots. Despite holding on for two more years, McLaren once again fell short, allowing Ferrari to dominate with Michael Schumacher winning 5 consecutive championships.

Fernando Alonso, a young Spaniard, won two championships with Renault before joining McLaren in 2007 alongside the rookie Englishman Lewis Hamilton. The two initially got along well, but their relationship turned into a fierce rivalry for the drivers' championship. In 2007, McLaren allowed them to compete for the championship, but they lost to Kimi Raikkonen, a Ferrari driver. McLaren also faced accusations of stealing confidential files from Ferrari, known as Spygate, resulting in their disqualification from the 2007 Championship. However, in 2008, Lewis Hamilton had a great season and won the drivers' title back from Ferrari in the final race.

Since 2008, McLaren has not been able to win a championship. But this year, things have turned around for them. Starting the season with a couple of bad performances, McLaren has found out what they've been doing wrong and they've majorly improved since the start of the season.

McLaren is currently leading the Constructors' standings as Red Bull Racing is facing some on-track and off-track difficulties. Lando Norris has a good chance of winning the Drivers' Championship. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are the ideal pair for McLaren and they are competing to secure the top spot in the Constructors' standings.