5 of the BEST McLaren MP4 cars... and 5 of the WORST

The best of the best, for many the MP4/4 remains THE greatest F1 car ever produced and in terms of the results it achieved in 1988 in the hands of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, it is hard to argue against this view. The Honda-powered machine spurred Senna and Prost to win all-but one of that year's 16 races, with the legendary Brazilian coming away with the first of his three F1 Drivers' world titles.

With Benetton, Williams and Ferrari surpassing McLaren in the mid-nineties, the British team fought back in fine style in 1998 with the MP4/13 as Mika Hakkinen swept to a hard earned maiden F1 world title. It's first title in what would become a successful partnership with Mercedes, the distinctive 'Silver Arrow' went on to win again in 1999 with the equally impressive MP4/14 to assure McLaren's spectacular return to form. That said, 1998 marks the last time McLaren won a constructors' championship in F1...

Two years after the MP4 nomenclature was first introduced and 10 years since McLaren's last F1 constructors' title, the team was back on top in 1984 with the MP4/2. Niki Lauda edged team-mate Alain Prost by half a point to claim the Drivers' crown in the TAG-powered car, even though he only won five races that year to Prost's seven…

How do you follow up a record-breaking F1 season? For McLaren, you win the next three championships too! Though not quite a dominant as 1988, the McLaren-Honda powerhouse still yielded the constructors' title in 1989, 1990 and 1991. The latter season brought Senna is third and final F1 world title with a dominant showing of seven race wins.

Though McLaren's form fluctuated during the 2000s, it struck gold in 2008 with Lewis Hamilton clinching his first title - McLaren's first in nine years and its most recent success to date - with the distinctive MP4/23. A sweet return to form for McLaren having had its constructors' points annulled in 2007 in the wake of the 'Spygate' scandal, the MP4/23 is remembered fondly as the last title winning car of its era prior to the 2009's season's 'aesthetically challenged' regulation overhaul.

After a disappointing season with lacklustre Peugeot power in 1994, McLaren came into 1995 with renewed optimism after beginning what would become a hugely successful partnership with Mercedes. However, things didn't start off well with the innovative but cumbersome MP4-10. Famously too narrow to fit big name signing Nigel Mansell - forcing him to miss the first two races - the former champion was so unhappy with the car when he did get to drive it that he retired for good two races later. Improved results as the season wore on gave a glimpse of what was to come, but two podiums were the scant highlights from 1995.

With Lewis Hamilton heading to Mercedes, McLaren entered a new era in 2013 but the MP4/28 was barely able to break out of the midfield. With Mercedes clearly prioritising its factory effort, McLaren failed to score a podium for the first time since 1980 and not once did they qualify in the top-five

McLaren's much anticipated return to Honda power in 2015 generated much publicity and expectation... but the result was a disaster for team as it slumped to ninth overall. Though the unreliable engine could take much of the blame, the chassis wasn't a match for its rivals either.

Intended to be entered in 2003, the Adrian Newey-penned MP4-18 never actually turned a wheel in racing anger. Innovative and tightly packaged, the car was groundbreaking but compromising. With the updated MP4-17 from 2002 doing a good job of keeping McLaren in the title hunt in the short-term, the decision was taken to shelve the MP4-18 altogether and morph it into 2004's MP4-19. However.... (see below)

... even a lengthy development period couldn't fix the gremlins. Described as a 'debugged' version of the stillborn MP4-18, the next iteration still struggled for reliability and forced a hasty re-design mid-season. The ensuing MP4-19B was a significant improvement, but it could only haul McLaren as far as fifth overall to signal McLaren's worst season since 1982 with the MP4/1