So who created one of the greatest Formula 1 cars? Engineers accuse each other of lying

Over 30 years ago, the MP4/4 won 15 out of 16 races and gave Senna her first title. Today, its creators are arguing over who invented the car.

In the entire history of Formula 1, no one has had such dominance as McLaren in 1988 – Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost won 15 races out of 16. Only at Monza, when one of the pilots had an engine failure, and the other collided with Schlesser, the victory was won by Gerhard Berger in a Ferrari.

For Tifosi around the world, that day was special: the race took place just a month after the death of Enzo Ferrari. However, by that time, McLaren had already guaranteed itself the Constructors’ Championship, and no one had any real chances to catch up with Senna and Prost in the championship.

Considered by many to be the best car ever built in Grand Prix racing, the MP4/4 was voted by British Autosport readers as the greatest racing car of the 20th century. However, disputes about who exactly created it have not subsided so far.

MP4/4 domination

The McLaren MP4 / 4 began to be developed in 1987, when Gordon Murray joined the team from Brabham. The main difference from the MP4 / 3 for the engineering team was the transition to new engines – Ron Dennis was able to agree on the supply of Honda turbo engines, which were considered the best in Formula 1.

True, since 1989, such engines have been banned, and in order to encourage the transition of teams to atmospheric engines, cars with turbos were limited by the volume of the fuel tank – this will force Prost and Senna to actively save fuel in races.

In the main, the chassis was a development of last year’s model – it was invented for McLaren by lead engineer Steve Nichols, who, with the departure of Barnard, independently brought the MP4 / 3 to mind, and she eventually brought Prost three wins and fourth place at the end of the season.

With the arrival of Murray, Nichols remained at his post and directly dealt with this machine, while Neil Oatley focused on the 1989 project of the year – with a naturally aspirated engine.