McLaren MP4-23

The McLaren MP4-23 was Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes' Formula One car for the 2008 Formula One season. It was revealed at Mercedes-Benz's motor sport museum in Stuttgart on 7 January 2008, and it had its first on-track appearance at Jerez in Spain on 9 January. The car won the 2008 World Driver's Championship in the hands of Lewis Hamilton, but finished 2nd in the constructor's championship which was won by Ferrari. The car, along with its rivals during the season marked the end of an era of complex aerodynamic appendages on the bodywork, which would be banned for the 2009 season.

Development

Following the 2007 Formula One espionage controversy the MP4-23 was subject to FIA inspection before the start of the 2008 season, to determine if any Ferrari intellectual property was on the car. After an admission that the Ferrari information was disseminated more widely throughout the team than was originally thought and apology by McLaren on 13 December 2007, and a pledge that measures would be taken to rectify the situation, the FIA decided that there was no need for a formal hearing and the matter was considered closed.