<< Prev Page 2 of 2 In his quest to reduce drag, Cuppock had perhaps pushed the bar too far as cooling issues emerged as the new car's big problem. There simply was no room for all the radiators in the M26's small side-pods. Although not very elegant, the final solution to cure the issues was to move the oil-cooler to the nose of the car. Unfortunately, this also eliminated part of the gains in drag reduction compared to the M23. Still not entirely convinced of its new car, McLaren started its title defence with the now five-year old M23.
Hunt was finally entered with the M26 for the Spanish Grand Prix in May of 1977. It was another difficult 'debut' as Hunt suffered a big accident in practice and ultimately retired from the race with ignition issues. For Monaco, Hunt reverted back to the M23 but then returned to the wheel of the M26 in the Belgian Grand Prix. There were signs of progress but it was not until the British Grand Prix in July that Hunt finally scored his first victory with the M26. He would go on to win at Watkins Glen and Fuji. McLaren ended the year third in the constructor's table behind Ferrari and Lotus.
At the start of the 1978 season, the M26 was finally completely sorted but with the arrival of the ground-effect Lotus 79, it was also effectively rendered obsolete. Hunt and new signing Patrick Tambay struggled throughout the year and McLaren slipped to eighth in the championship. The ground-effect M28 replaced the M26 at the start of the 1979 but it proved to be not much of an improvement. McLaren would be in the doldrums for several more seasons and the M26 remained the final McLaren to win a Grand Prix until the 1981 British Grand Prix. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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In his quest to reduce drag, Cuppock had perhaps pushed the bar too far as cooling issues emerged as the new car's big problem. There simply was no room for all the radiators in the M26's small side-pods. Although not very elegant, the final solution to cure the issues was to move the oil-cooler to the nose of the car. Unfortunately, this also eliminated part of the gains in drag reduction compared to the M23. Still not entirely convinced of its new car, McLaren started its title defence with the now five-year old M23.