The McLaren MP4-16 was the car with which the McLaren team competed in the 2001 Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed by Adrian Newey, Steve Nichols, Neil Oatley and Peter Prodromou, with Mario Illien designing the bespoke Ilmor engine. It was driven by double world champion Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard in what would be their sixth and final season together as McLaren teammates.
After being narrowly pipped to both titles by Ferrari in 2000, the goal of 2001 was to get McLaren back on top. However, the season proved to be frustrating in more ways than one. The chassis was good, but it was not developed enough to keep pace with Ferrari or new rivals Williams and also suffered from niggling aerodynamic problems; the Mercedes-Benz engines were less powerful than Williams’s BMW units and less reliable than Ferrari’s in-house efforts; and the team did not do a good enough job regarding the return of electronic driver aids.
Chassis: Carbon-fibre monocoque
Suspension (front): double wishbone, inboard torsion bar/damper system, pushrod, and bell crank-activated
Suspension (rear): double wishbone, inboard torsion bar/damper system, pushrod, and bell crank-activated
Engine: Ilmor-built Mercedes-Benz FO110K 3.0 L (183 cu in) V10 (72°) naturally aspirated
Transmission: McLaren 7-Speed longitudinal semi-automatic sequential
Power: 830 hp (619 kW) @ 17,800 RPM
Fuel: Mobil Unleaded
Lubricants: Mobil
Tyres: Bridgestone
