McLaren MP4/13

The McLaren MP4/13 was a racing car that the McLaren Formula One team used during the 1998 Formula 1 season. The chassis was designed by Adrian Newey, Steve Nichols, Neil Oatley and Henri Durand with Mario Illien designing the bespoke Ilmor engine. Driven by Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard, who were retained from the previous season, the car proved to be the dominant car of the season, taking Häkkinen to his first Drivers' Championship and securing McLaren's first constructors' title since 1991 and, as of 2020, their last.

McLaren MP4/13
McLaren MP4/13 of Mika Häkkinen
CategoryFormula One
ConstructorMcLaren
Designer(s)Adrian Newey (Technical Director)
Steve Nichols (Engineering Director)
Neil Oatley (Design Director)
Henri Durand (Head of Aerodynamics)
PredecessorMP4/12
SuccessorMP4/14
Technical specifications
ChassisMoulded carbon-fibre composite structure
Suspension (front)Double wishbones, pushrod
Suspension (rear)Double wishbones, pushrod
EngineIlmor-built Mercedes-Benz FO-110G V10 (72º)
TransmissionMcLaren six-speed longitudinal semi-automatic sequential.
Power780–800 hp (582–597 kW) @ 17,000 rpm
FuelMobil 1
TyresBridgestone
Competition history
Notable entrantsWest McLaren Mercedes
Notable drivers7. David Coulthard
8. Mika Häkkinen
Debut1998 Australian Grand Prix
RacesWinsPodiumsPolesF.Laps
16920129
Constructors' Championships1 (1998)
Drivers' Championships1 (1998, Mika Häkkinen)

McLaren used 'West' logos, except at the French, British and German Grands Prix.

History
Mika Häkkinen's MP4/13 in test livery in the McLaren Hall at Donington Grand Prix Exhibition

Designer Adrian Newey had joined McLaren from Williams F1 in 1997, but was unable to influence the design of the McLaren MP4/12 other than adjustment during the season. The work was rewarded when the MP4/12 took a 1-2 win at the 1997 European Grand Prix.

When the 1998 season got underway four months later it became clear that Newey had adapted to the rule changes for 1998 best. With the cars now narrower and running on grooved tyres, the all-new design of the MP4/13 made it the car to beat.

The dominance of the MP4/13 was displayed in the opening race of the season, the 1998 Australian Grand Prix. Drivers Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard outclassed the competition by leaving every competitor at least a lap behind. Adrian Newey's aerodynamic design was by far the most efficient one and Mercedes produced the most powerful engine of the season. The team was aided by a unique brake-steer system which allowed the driver to use any one of the car's brakes independently to aid cornering, a system first used in 1997. Ferrari protested, stating that the brake-steer system was a violation of the technical rules, which banned four-wheel steering. The FIA eventually sided with Ferrari and the system was disallowed, although the team was allowed to keep the results gained so far.[1]

McLaren's dominance continued on the second race of the season in Brazil, but from the next GP in Argentina, Ferrari started closing the huge gap.[2] However, the MP4/13 retained its superiority on high-speed tracks like Hockenheim and Silverstone, while Ferrari's F300 was closer to the McLaren on more technical circuits. Coulthard spoke of the MP4/13 later on, saying the car was fast but it understeered through slow corners; this was due to Newey's design that maximized the car's aerodynamic grip over its mechanical grip.[3] Häkkinen initially found the car to be nervous on testing due to a rearward biased instability, but this was corrected before the season started.[4]

During the 1998 season, Coulthard's MP4/13 speed trapped the highest of all 1998 cars when he was clocked at 353 km/h (219 mph) at the old Hockenheim circuit.

While Ferrari's Michael Schumacher put up a good fight when the season progressed, Häkkinen became world champion that year, despite McLaren's reliability problems. Also, McLaren won the Constructors' Championship, with Häkkinen winning eight Grands Prix and Coulthard one. This was McLaren's first championship victory since 1991 with McLaren great Ayrton Senna, and their most successful year since the peak of the Prost-Senna feud of the 1989 season.[5]

During 1998 both Nick Heidfeld and Ricardo Zonta acted as test drivers for McLaren and drove the McLaren MP4/13 at test sessions.[6][7] The record time for the Goodwood Festival of Speed hillclimb was set in 1999 when Heidfeld drove an MP4/13 up the hill in 41.6 seconds.[8]

Other

In July 2017, it was announced by video game developer Codemasters that the car will appear in the video game F1 2017 as a classic car. It also appears in F1 2018,[9] and F1 2019.[10]

Technical specifications
David Coulthard driving at the 1998 Canadian Grand Prix.

Car: McLaren MP4/13
  • Chassis: carbon fibre, aluminium
  • Gearbox: 6 gears
  • Cooling system: two McLaren/Calsonic water radiators, two McLaren/Marston oil radiators.
  • Length of the whole car: 4,550 mm (179.1 in)
  • Weight with water, oil and driver: 600 kg (1,322.8 lb)

Engine: Mercedes-Benz FO-110G
  • Cylinders: 10, in a 72° angle
  • Valves: 4 per cylinder
  • Length: 590 mm (23.2 in)
  • Breadth: 546.4 mm (21.5 in)
  • Height: 476 mm (18.7 in)
  • Weight: 107 kilograms (236 lb)
  • Power: 780–800 bhp (582–597 kW)

Supplies
Rear view of the MP4-13

.

  • Tyres: Bridgestone
  • Wheels: Enkei 13-in
  • Brakes: AP Racing discs and claws
  • Oil and Petrol: Mobil
  • Ignition: TAG 2000
  • Spark plugs: NGK

[11]

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Points WCC
1998 McLaren Mercedes V10 B AUS BRA ARG SMR ESP MON CAN FRA GBR AUT GER HUN BEL ITA LUX JPN 156 1st
David Coulthard 2 2 6 1 2 Ret Ret 6 Ret 2 2 2 7 Ret 3 3
Mika Häkkinen 1 1 2 Ret 1 1 Ret 3 2 1 1 6 Ret 4 1 1

References
  1. "Brake-steer McLaren". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  2. "1998 McLaren MP4-13 Mercedes - Images, Specifications and Information". Ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  3. "McLaren MP4-13". www.f1technical.net. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. "Engineering The Greats: Adrian Newey". Youtube. Motor sport. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  5. https://autoweek.com/article/formula-one/mika-hakkinen-brings-his-championship-winning-mp4-13-life-suzuka
  6. "Ricardo Zonta (BRA) tests the McLaren MP4-13. Formula One Testing, Magny-Cours, France, 15 - 16 September 1998". Motorsport Images. Sutton Images. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  7. "Nick Heidfeld (GER) tests the McLaren Mercedes MP4-13. Formula One Testing, Barcelona, Spain, 1-3 December 1998". Motorsport Images. Sutton Images. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  8. "The Speed Fest Whose Terrible Race Track Scares Away F1 Stars". Wired. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  9. "Full List Of F1® 2018 Classic Cars Revealed". Codemasters. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  10. "F1 2019 game classic car list". Motor Sport Magazine. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  11. van Vliet, Arjen. "Formule 1 teams '98"
  • AUTOCOURSE 1998-99, Henry, Alan (ed.), Hazleton Publishing Ltd. (1998) ISBN 1-874557-43-8
Awards
Preceded by
Williams FW19		 Autosport
Racing Car Of The Year
1998		 Succeeded by
McLaren MP4/14
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