The McLaren MP4-23 was the car with which the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team competed in 2008. Lewis Hamilton won the drivers’ championship with it, while the constructors’ title went to Ferrari; it was McLaren’s last drivers’ title until Lando Norris won in 2025.
McLaren MP4-23 at a glance
| Type | Formula One racing car |
|---|---|
| Season | 2008 |
| Designers | Paddy Lowe, Neil Oatley, Tim Goss, Andrew Bailey, Simon Lacey |
| Engine | Mercedes-Benz, designed by Andy Cowell |
| Drivers | Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen |
| Revealed | Mercedes-Benz museum, Stuttgart, 7 January 2008 |
| First run | Jerez, 9 January 2008 |
| Championship | drivers’ title for Hamilton; second among the constructors |
| Rule changes | raised headrests, no traction control with the standard ECU |
| Changes from MP4-22 | longer wheelbase, no bullhorn winglets, new rear wing |
based on one source (English Wikipedia).
History of the McLaren MP4-23
The car was revealed at Mercedes-Benz’s motor sport museum in Stuttgart on 7 January 2008 and had its first on-track appearance at Jerez on 9 January. After the 2007 espionage controversy the MP4-23 was inspected by the FIA before the season to see whether any Ferrari intellectual property was on the car. McLaren had admitted that the Ferrari information had spread more widely through the team than first thought and apologised on 13 December 2007, pledging to correct the situation, and the FIA decided no formal hearing was needed.
The 2008 rules brought raised headrests for driver safety and banned traction control through a standard ECU, which made the MP4-23 the first McLaren without traction control since the MP4-16 of 2001. Revisions from the MP4-22 included a longer wheelbase, the removal of the bullhorn winglets from the airbox and a new rear wing that differed in both main profile and endplates. In testing before the German Grand Prix the car ran with a shark fin engine cover, as used by Renault and Red Bull, though the team did not keep it. At the Hungarian Grand Prix new parts appeared, including dumbo wings on the nose similar to Honda’s, which were removed for the Italian Grand Prix and reinstated afterwards.
Lewis Hamilton won the 2008 drivers’ championship, while McLaren finished second among the constructors behind Ferrari. Along with its rivals of that season, the MP4-23 marked the end of an era of complex aerodynamic appendages on the bodywork, which were banned for 2009. It was the last McLaren to win the drivers’ title until Lando Norris ended a 17-year wait with the MCL39 in 2025.
The livery stayed close to the MP4-22’s: grey remained the main colour, with red and the Vodafone title sponsor on both wings, sidepods and vents, plus Johnnie Walker, SAP, Schüco, Aigo and Santander. When Fernando Alonso returned to Renault the Mutua Madrileña sponsorship went with him. During the 2008–2009 off-season McLaren tested a K version of the MP4-23 with KERS and an enlarged front wing, changes that went on to the 2009 MP4-24. The car later appeared in demonstration runs: Jenson Button drove it at Mount Panorama in 2011 in MP4-26 livery and on Pirelli slicks, Tony Stewart drove it at Watkins Glen, and in 2026 Oscar Piastri drove Hamilton’s championship car at Miami.
Design and features
- No traction control: the first McLaren without it since 2001, thanks to the standard ECU.
- Longer wheelbase: one of the main changes from the MP4-22.
- Revised rear wing: a new main profile and endplates, with the bullhorn winglets deleted.
- Raised headrests: a safety change required for all 2008 cars.
- End of an era: the last of the heavily winged cars before the 2009 rules.
McLaren MP4-23 versions
- MP4-23 (2008): the race car of the season.
- MP4-23K: an off-season test car with KERS and a larger front wing.
- Hungarian Grand Prix specification: the version with dumbo wings on the nose.
The MP4-23 followed the MP4-22 and was replaced by the MP4-24; earlier title-winning McLarens were the MP4/4 and the M23. More cars are in the McLaren collection.
Sources
- McLaren MP4-23, English Wikipedia: development, 2008 rules, livery, later runs
