Teddy Mayer, the man who ran the McLaren team during James Hunt's title-winning season in 1976, has died.
Mayer passed away at his home in England on Friday at the age of 73.
The American helped Bruce McLaren form his team in the mid-1960s, and then took sole charge when McLaren was killed in a Can-Am sportscar testing crash at Goodwood in 1970.
Under Mayer's leadership, McLaren took Emerson Fittipaldi and Hunt to the 1974 and 1976 world championships, while also maintaining parallel programmes in American racing and winning the 1976 Indianapolis 500.
But McLaren went into a decline after Hunt's title success, and in 1980 its sponsor Marlboro brought in Ron Dennis – then the head of leading Formula 2 team Project Four – and design ace John Barnard to turn things around.
Although Mayer jointly ran the team with Dennis for a few years, he departed in 1982 and returned to American racing, before reappearing in F1 briefly with the less successful Beatrice Haas Lola team in 1985 and 1986.
Current McLaren team principal Dennis has paid tribute to his predecessor.
"Teddy was one of motor racing's few truly great men," he said.
"As far as I and all at McLaren are concerned, he has particular importance, on account of the fact that in 1963 he was part of the very small team of talented enthusiasts who, alongside Bruce McLaren, founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd.
"Bruce died tragically young in 1970, having won grands prix but no world championships with his fledgling team, but when I bought into the team in 1980 Teddy had built on the foundations laid by Bruce, Tyler Alexander and himself and had already achieved a lot – two Formula 1 world championships with Emerson Fittipaldi and James Hunt, as well as huge success in the States.
"Those fantastic cars – the magnificent McLaren Can-Am cars driven by Denny Hulme and Bruce himself and the superb McLaren CART cars driven by guys like Johnny Rutherford, as well as James's and Emerson's iconic McLaren M23 Formula 1 cars – grace the boulevard reception area of the McLaren Technology Centre today.
"In 1982 Teddy sold his shares in McLaren, and I'm glad to say we've continued to be successful, and to win world championships, ever since.
"But the origins of our many and ongoing successes are with Bruce and Teddy.
"So I would like to pay tribute to Teddy's enormously valuable contribution, and to his immortal legacy, and to extend the sympathies of all at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to his family and many friends at this very sad time."