<< Prev Page 2 of 2 McLaren persevered with the M29 into the 1980 season. Coppuck made detail improvements to the design and two new cars were constructed. Tambay was replaced by his younger and more talented compatriot Alain Prost. Not surprisingly, McLaren was again not challenging for victories with two fourth place finishes from Watson, the best results. The team slipped to an embarrassing 9th in the championship, with just 11 points.
One of those 11 points was scored by Alain Prost driving the new M30, which was an evolution of the M29 and hardly an improved. He quit at the end of the year and left to join Renault. Having reached rock bottom, McLaren was acquired by Ron Dennis's Project Four operation with the help of Marlboro. Awaiting the introduction of the revolutionary carbon-fibre MP4, the M29 was pressed into service in the opening rounds of the 1981 season.
McLaren built a total of five M29s, three in 1979 and two new examples built to the updated M29C specification ahead of the 1980 season. One of the least successful McLaren Formula 1 cars, it serves as a reminder on how quickly things change in this competitive sport. The M29 represents the end of an era and the start of a hugely successful period as with the MP4, designed by John Barnard, McLaren was back on the top step of the podium before the end of the 1981 season. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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McLaren persevered with the M29 into the 1980 season. Coppuck made detail improvements to the design and two new cars were constructed. Tambay was replaced by his younger and more talented compatriot Alain Prost. Not surprisingly, McLaren was again not challenging for victories with two fourth place finishes from Watson, the best results. The team slipped to an embarrassing 9th in the championship, with just 11 points.