Racing drivers and constructors
Bruce McLaren
1937–1970
Bruce Leslie McLaren
Racing driver · Founder of McLaren · Engineer
New Zealand driver and engineer who won his first Grand Prix at 22, founded the McLaren team in 1963 and won Le Mans for Ford in 1966.
- Born
- 30 August 1937Auckland, New Zealand
- Died
- 2 June 1970Goodwood Circuit, England
- Nationality
- New Zealander
Biography
Bruce Leslie McLaren was born in Auckland on 30 August 1937. He won the 1959 United States Grand Prix at Sebring, becoming the youngest winner in Formula One history - a record he held for more than four decades. He finished runner-up to Jack Brabham in the 1960 championship and won the Monaco Grand Prix in 1962.
In 1963 he founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd. With Chris Amon he won the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Ford GT40 Mk II. In Can-Am his own cars were the ones to beat: McLaren won the drivers' title in 1967, when the team took five of the six races, and again in 1969. At Spa in 1968 he gave the team its first Formula One victory, the Belgian Grand Prix.
Bruce McLaren was killed at Goodwood on 2 June 1970, aged 32, while testing the McLaren M8D. The company that carries his name went on to build road cars as well as racing cars. He was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
Timeline
Cars
McLaren F1
McLaren P1Bruce McLaren in 1CARS stories
- Shelby: Carroll Shelby's Company From the Cobra to Today
- Austin: Herbert Austin's Longbridge Car Maker, 1905–1988
- Austin 7: the Baby Austin That Motorised Britain
- McLaren Elva: the Open Ultimate Series Car Without a Windscreen
- McLaren 570S: the Car That Started the Sports Series
- Ford GT40: the Car Built to Beat Ferrari at Le Mans
- Ford v Ferrari: How a Failed Takeover Led to Four Le Mans Wins
- McLaren: History, Landmark Cars and Racing Titles
- McLaren MP4-12C: The Carbon-Tub Supercar That Restarted McLaren
Related people
Sources
- Bruce McLaren — Wikipedia · accessed 13 October 2026