McLaren M23

History

1973

The M19 had reached the end of its development life and a new design was needed to keep pace with the latest generation of Formula One cars and regulations regarding deformable crash protection structures. Taking inspiration from the M16 Indycar and utilising the M19's rear suspension design, the new M23 was introduced for the 1973 season, and scored pole position with Denny Hulme on its very first outing. Hulme and Peter Revson took three wins between them that season, while rookie Jody Scheckter nearly added a fourth. Scheckter was responsible for one of the biggest accidents Formula One has ever seen, at the 1973 British Grand Prix, when he spun his M23 in front of the pack.

1974

Emerson Fittipaldi joined McLaren from Lotus in . His knowledge of the Lotus 72 helped McLaren develop the M23B and that season Fittipaldi gave McLaren its first drivers' and constructors' world championships, beating Ferrari, Tyrrell and Lotus with four wins.

The season saw Marlboro become title sponsors of the team, which they would continue to be so until 1996. Fittipaldi worked on improving the car; a wider track and longer wheelbase were adopted. The revised M23 featured redesigned bodywork, wings and aerodynamics were introduced during the year.

Fittipaldi took three wins, while Hulme won once in a closely fought season.

1975

Further development in 1975 – including a 6-speed gearbox, a novelty for the time – resulted in the M23C, and helped Fittipaldi to second in the drivers' championship behind Niki Lauda, who had the benefit of Ferrari's 312T chassis and McLaren to third in the constructors' championship, behind Ferrari and Brabham.

The team experimented with different bodywork styles, including aerodynamic kickups in front of the rear wheels, different nose profiles and extended bodywork in front of the rear wheels, housing the oil coolers.

Also making an appearance were side mounted skirts which sealed the underside of the car to the racetrack, a precursor to the ground effect technology first seen properly with the Lotus 78. Most of these changes were adopted for the M23 and its successor, the McLaren M26.

1976

At the end of 1975 Fittipaldi left the team to join his brother's Copersucar-sponsored Fittipaldi Automotive team. He was replaced by James Hunt, who went on to win a dramatic and controversial 1976 season with the M23D.

New regulations outlawing the tall airboxes over the engines were introduced for the Spanish Grand Prix. As a result the M23 sported mid mounted air scoops on either side of the roll bar. The oil coolers were repositioned to be in front of the rear wheels.

James Hunt won six races on his way to the world championship.

1977

The M26 was seen as the future and development had ended on the M23 by the end of 1976. However, when the new car proved troublesome, Hunt and Jochen Mass relied on the M23E in the early part of the 1977 season, and even though the car was now four years old it was still competitive, earning several pole positions and podium finishes.

Gilles Villeneuve made his Grand Prix debut at the 1977 British Grand Prix in an M23.

The M23 was never the most technically advanced F1 car, but sound preparation and continual development helped it win 16 Grands Prix, two drivers' and one constructors' world championships in its lifetime.

Formula 5000

The M23 that was sold to South African racer Dave Charlton who used it to run 14th in the 1975 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami (Peter Revson's 1973 British Grand Prix winning chassis No.M23-2), was then sold off to Adelaide based Australian racing driver John McCormack who had the car modified for use in Formula 5000 racing. With assistance from former Repco Brabham engineer Phil Irving, using a Repco modified, 4931 cc, 470 bhp Leyland V8 in place of the Cosworth DFV, McCormack claimed the 1977 Australian Drivers' Championship. McCormack had chosen the alloy block Leyland for the car as it was similar in weight to the DFV the car was designed to use (the Leyland only weighed 160 kg, just 8 kg less than the Cosworth) and caused much less of a handling imbalance than would have the much heavier Chevrolet (231.5 kg) or Repco Holden (220 kg) V8 alternatives in use in Australian F5000 racing. What the Repco Leyland gave away in power (both the alternatives were putting out at least 500 bhp) was often more than compensated for by the more finely tuned handling of the former British Grand Prix winning car. Unfortunately though, what the Repco Leyland really did lack against its rivals was not just outright power, but reliability.

McCormack also put his M23 on pole for the 1978 Australian Grand Prix, though a cracked head caused by a blown head gasket only discovered on the grid before the formation lap meant an early retirement from the race.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

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

• 12 points in scored using the M19A and M19C

• 39 points in scored using the M26

• All points in scored using the McLaren M26

References

• F1 Racing magazine, January 2001
• Motor Sport (magazine), August 2002

References

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6. (2 February 2009). "McLaren M23".
7. (2 February 2009). "Grand Prix Cars - McLaren M23".
8. (14 June 2016). "Top Gear's coolest racing cars: McLaren M23".
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10. "Learning new tricks".
11. "How McLaren and Ferrari went to war with the rules in '76".
12. "1973 - 1977 McLaren M23 Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information".
13. "McLaren Racing - Heritage - M23".
14. "When Gilles Villeneuve contested his first Grand Prix with McLaren in 1977".
15. "F1: 7 things to know about the McLaren M23".
16. [https://primotipo.com/2014/07/24/macs-mclaren-peter-revson-dave-charlton-and-john-mccormacks-mclaren-m232/ Mac’s McLaren: Peter Revson, Dave Charlton and John McCormack’s McLaren M23/2…]
17. Klopfer, Wolfgang. (13 December 2005). "Formula 5000 in New Zealand & Australia: Race by Race". BoD – Books on Demand.