Editing Gordon Murray (section)

==Formula One career==

===Brabham: 1969–1986===
Murray moved to England in 1969, hoping to find a job at [[Lotus Cars]]. But Murray was offered a job at [[Brabham]] after coincidentally meeting then Brabham designer [[Ron Tauranac]]. When [[Bernie Ecclestone]] took over the Brabham team, he appointed Murray Chief Designer. There Murray designed many [[Grand Prix motor racing|Grand Prix]] cars, some of which were World Championship Grand Prix winners. These designs include the extraordinary [[Brabham BT46|BT46B]], also known as "the Brabham fan car", as well as the World Championship winning [[Brabham BT49|BT49]] and [[Brabham BT52|BT52]]. Murray developed a reputation for an innovative approach to design, applied not only to car concepts and details but also to race strategy.<ref>Cross, N. and A. Clayburn Cross (1996) "Designing to Win: the methods of Gordon Murray, racing car designer", [http://ees.elsevier.com/destud/default.asp Design Studies], Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 91–107.</ref>

Between 1973 and 1985, Murray's Brabhams scored 22 Grand Prix wins, finished 2nd in the Constructors' Championship in 1975 and 1981,<ref>Henry, A. (1985) Brabham: The Grand Prix Cars, Hazleton Publishing, Richmond, Surrey, UK.</ref> and gave [[Nelson Piquet]] Drivers' Championships in 1981 and 1983.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.formula1.com/teams_and_drivers/hall_of_fame/181/|title=F1 Team & Drivers Hall of Fame: Nelson Piquet|publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|FIA]]|access-date=24 October 2007}}</ref> For the {{f1|1986}} season, Murray designed the radical and highly ambitious low-line [[Brabham BT55]], lowering overall ride height by inclining the engine and placing the driver in a recumbent position. However, the car was not a success, finishing only seven of the sixteen races in the season.

====List of Brabham Formula One cars designed by Gordon Murray====

*[[Brabham BT42]] (1973&ndash;1974)
*[[Brabham BT44]] (1974)
*[[Brabham BT44|Brabham BT44B]] (1975)
*[[Brabham BT45]] (1976)
*[[Brabham BT45|Brabham BT45B]] (1977)
*[[Brabham BT45|Brabham BT45C]] (1978)
*[[Brabham BT46]] (1978)
*[[Brabham BT46|Brabham BT46B]] (1978)
*[[Brabham BT46|Brabham BT46C]] (1978)
*[[Brabham BT48]] (1979)
*[[Brabham BT49]] (1979&ndash;1980)
*[[Brabham BT49|Brabham BT49B]] (1980)
*[[Brabham BT49|Brabham BT49C]] (1981&ndash;1982)
*[[Brabham BT50]] (1981&ndash;1982)
*[[Brabham BT49|Brabham BT49D]] (1982)
*[[Brabham BT52]] (1983)
*[[Brabham BT52|Brabham BT52B]] (1983)
*[[Brabham BT53]] (1984)
*[[Brabham BT54]] (1985&ndash;1986)
*[[Brabham BT55]] (1986)

===McLaren: 1987–1991===
In 1986, Murray received an offer from [[Ron Dennis]] to join [[McLaren]] as Technical Director, taking over the role formerly held by [[John Barnard]]. Murray brought his Brabham experience to the McLaren design team, led by Chief Designer [[Steve Nichols]]. The 1988 [[McLaren MP4/4|MP4/4]] car, with a Honda turbo-powered engine, won 15 of the season's 16 Grands Prix, and gave [[Ayrton Senna]] his first Drivers' Championship.<ref>McLaren MP4/4 Owners' Workshop Manual: 1988 (all models) - An insight into the design, engineering and operation of the most successful F1 car ever built (Haynes Owners' Workshop Manual), {{ISBN|978-1785211379}}</ref> In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren's points score of 199 was at that time an all-time high. Murray also oversaw the design of the naturally-aspirated engined 1989 [[McLaren MP4/5|MP4/5]] and 1990 MP4/5B with lead designer [[Neil Oatley]].<ref>Porter, Philip (2019) Gordon Murray: One Formula: 50 years of car design, Porter Press, Tenbury Wells, UK. Vol. 2.  pp. 486-558. {{ISBN|978-1913089061}}</ref> The MP4/5 and MP4/5B won the driver's and constructor's championships in both years. Over the period 1988–91, the McLaren team won four consecutive Constructors' and Drivers' Championships: [[Alain Prost]] won the Drivers' Championship in 1989, while Senna won further Drivers' Championships in 1990 and 1991.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.formula1.com/teams_and_drivers/hall_of_fame/45/|title=F1 Team & Drivers Hall of Fame: Ayrton Senna|publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|FIA]]|access-date=24 October 2007}}</ref>