In July 1984, a 12-year-old English lad was so enthralled as he watched Niki Lauda win the 1984 British Grand Prix in the McLaren-TAG MP4/2 that he vowed to not only work in Formula 1 as an engineer but, ultimately, to do so by joining McLaren.
Via a somewhat circuitous route that saw him take up an apprenticeship with Lotus before graduating as a mechanical engineer, he realised his ambition in 2019.
I want to encourage people who want to go into engineering
That youngster was James Key, now technical director at McLaren, who led the design of the 2021 MCL35M (M for Mercedes), an evolution of the Renault-powered MCL35. In September last year, the MCL35M scored a one-two in Monza, a momentous day for Key and vindication for his chosen career path, although the now 50-year old modestly credits his entire team. It was he, though, that set the design direction.
In this exclusive interview for Racecar Engineering, Key provides valuable pointers for budding engineers and technical directors. The conversation may be liberally sprinkled with words such as ‘luck’ and ‘fortune’, but, as this interviews underscores, ‘luck’ can be created…
The way we lead our lives, and how societies live, is heavily influenced by innovations out of science and engineering
RE: How did you get into Formula 1?
: When I was very young, my
