The McLaren MP4-21 was the Formula One car driven by Kimi Räikkönen, Juan Pablo Montoya and Pedro de la Rosa, during the 2006 Formula One season. The MP4-21 was driven in all 18 races of the 2006 season, scoring nine podiums, and scoring points in all bar the 2006 United States Grand Prix.
The MP4-21 was launched with an orange colour in testing, which McLaren also previously did in 1997. The actual livery was later revealed in chrome silver and red.
After McLaren finished 2nd in the previous season in 2005, they could not repeat their success this year, despite the reliability being improved. McLaren could not win any race for the first time in twenty years [since 1996], with their only highest result becoming four second places in Australia, Monaco, Hungary and Italy.
At the end of the season, Räikkönen moved to Ferrari, and Montoya moved to NASCAR, while de la Rosa stayed in the team as a test driver. It was succeeded by the McLaren MP4-22 in 2007.
Team[]
| Position | Name |
| Team Principal | Ron Dennis |
| Chief Executive Officer | Martin Whitmarsh |
| Managing Director | Jonathan Neale |
| Engineering Director | Paddy Lowe |
| Engineering Director | |
| Design and Development Director | Neil Oatley |
| Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport | Norbert Haug |
| Director of Operations for Mercedes-Benz Motorsport | Ola Kallenius |
| Director of Engines for Mercedes-Benz Motorsport | Mario Illien |
| Operations Manager | Simon Roberts |
| Team Manager | Dave Ryan |
| Chief Engineer | Tim Goss |
| Chief Engineer | Pat Fry |
| Chief Designer | Mike Coughlan |
| Head of Aerodynamics | Peter Prodromou |
| Head of Vehicle Engineering | Mark Williams |
| Chief Mechanic | Peter Vale |
| Number 2 Mechanic | Marc Priestley |
| Chief Race Engineer | Steve Hallam |
| Spokesperson | Wolfgang Schattling |
| Spokesperson | Ellen Kolby |
| Race Engineer to Kimi Räikkönen | Mark Slade |
| Race Engineer to Juan Pablo Montoya | Phil Prew |
| Driver | Kimi Räikkönen |
| Driver | Juan Pablo Montoya |
| Test Drivers | Pedro de la Rosa |
| Test Drivers | Alexander Wurz |
Development timeline[]
Source: [1]
- August 2004: First engine design meeting.
- October 2004: First engine specification issue.
- April 2005: McLaren starts working on the layout of the MP4-21.
- Mid-April 2005: Simulation of the gearbox.
- May 2005: First issue of the car specification and scheming of gearbox.
- June 2005: First dyno test for the V8 engine.
- July 2005: Windtunnel work commences and first drawing for gearbox.
- August 2005: Datum sheet issue, final dimensions.
- September 2005: McLaren begins the first track test for the new V8 engine and begins producing the new gearbox.
- October 2005: McLaren begins manufacturing the chassis.
- November 2005: The mock-up of the MP4-21 chassis is ready.
- December 2005: The final engine mock-up is ready, and the first chassis is ready for bonding. The first chassis is tested by FIA, and McLaren starts building their 2006 car.
- January 2006: McLaren finishes building their MP4-21.
- January 23, 2006: The MP4-21 gets its first track test.
Complete Formula One Results[]
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Year | Driver | Tyre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | |
| 2006 | 
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 Räikkönen
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M | 3rd | Ret | 2nd | 5th | 4th | 5th | Ret | 3rd | 3rd | Ret | 5th | 3rd | Ret | Ret | 2nd | Ret | 5th | 5th | ||
 Montoya
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5th | 4th | Ret | 3rd | Ret | Ret | 2nd | 6th | Ret | Ret | |||||||||||
 de la Rosa
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7th | Ret | 2nd | 5th | Ret | 5th | 11th | 8th | |||||||||||||
Notes[]
- ↑ 'McLaren Mercedes MP4-21 - F1technical.net', http://www.f1technical.net/f1db/cars/909/mclaren-mercedes-mp4-21
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