Photo by LSDSL (CC BY-SA 3.0) - Credit Links at the end of the content
The secret pedal of McLaren, what makes this story so special?
In an era when fans were used to seeing things nobody had imagined, from wild aerodynamic ideas and powerful engines to unusual designs carried over from the 70s, McLaren discovered something simple that nobody expected.
The McLaren Secret Pedal: How a Simple Idea Changed F1
In the 90s, the real battle for every team was understeer, so how did McLaren try to find a solution to it?
Fighting understeer in the 90s…
Back in the day, understeer was a driver’s quiet frustration. The front end did not respond like today’s cars, so there were moments when a driver would turn the wheel and the car would resist, pushing wide instead of biting into the corner.
Steve Nichols, the chief engineer of McLaren, came with an idea during the 1997.
And that idea was neither expensive nor electronic wizardry, it reportedly cost only about £50.
It was a genius move that made the rest of the grid look like they were standing still.
McLaren Brake Steer System – How it worked?
McLaren called it “Brake-Steer,” but around the paddock, everyone quickly started referring to it as the secret third pedal.
It was simple. Just an extra master cylinder and a bit of tubing, but it changed everything.
And that tiny drag created something engineers call a yaw moment, in simpler terms, it rotated the car around its center, helping the nose tuck neatly toward the apex.
Instead of battling understeer with steering input alone, the driver could pivot the car using braking force. It was mechanical elegance, or, better yet, a surgical solution.
So it made a big difference on track, around three to five tenths of a second, and in F1, that gap is huge!
Fans often talk about McLaren’s secret “Brake-Steer” trick, and it’s actually pretty clever. In tight corners, F1 cars usually fight understeer, the front tires just don’t want to turn, and the car drifts wide. Mika Häkkinen had a secret weapon: a hidden third pedal. Pressing it would brake only the inside rear wheel as he turned. The effect? The car would pivot around that wheel, instantly pointing the nose toward the exit. It made the MP4/13 feel almost like it was dancing through corners, smooth, precise, and completely untouchable.
Two Drivers, different reactions
At the time, this was a completely new experience for both Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard, and not every driver adapts instantly to something so unconventional.
Häkkinen embraced it quickly. He learned how to blend steering with that subtle extra braking input, and the system soon became a natural part of his cornering style.
On the other hand, David Coulthard was more hesitant at first. He preferred using a foot-operated clutch, which complicated the pedal arrangement.
And McLaren had no choice but to find a solution, they configured a four-pedal setup for him. It sounds absurd today, but in that cockpit, there were moments when a Formula 1 car effectively had more pedals than most road cars ever will. Yet once mastered, the advantage was undeniable.
When a photographer exposed the secret pedal of McLaren
Nobody noticed it at first, rivals suspected, but in F1, suspicion is always part of the game.
Luxembourg GP in 1997
Here’s where it gets wild, photographer Darren Heath noticed something unusual: McLaren’s rear brake disks were glowing red in the middle of corners. Normally, drivers brake before the turn, not while going through it.
Mika Häkkinen retired from the race on lap 43, due to engine failure, and Heath managed to photograph the cockpit footwell of McLaren car, and there it was, the extra pedal, sitting where no one expected.
Did It Really Work?
In 1997, McLaren car was not fast enough to fight the front-runners, Williams and Ferrari, but the short answer is yes, that the secret pedal worked.
And the moment that shocked everyone came in 1998, at the season opener in Australia.
The new McLaren MP4/13 was untouchable, Hakkinen and Coulthard dominated the weekend, even lapping the entire field!
The British team was racing in a different category. But across 1997 and 1998, McLaren used the system in 10 races.
Protest about the Secret Pedal
After the first race in Australia in 1998, protest started and Ferrari led the charge, with rivals arguing that system effectively acted as a form of four-wheel steering, something clearly outlawed under the regulations.
The FIA examined it closely, mechanically, it was just braking, but philosophically, it altered the car’s direction in a way that blurred definitions.
After few weeks into the new season, officially it was classified as illegal four-wheel steering, unofficially, it had simply been to clever to comfort!
1998 Season
Even without the third pedal, McLaren was unstoppable in 1998 season.
Adrian Newey effect; after joning from Williams, 1998 was the first season for him at McLaren.
But if you ask me which car was the best of the 1990s, I would pick the Williams FW15C, with the McLaren MP4/13 coming second. The reason is simple: for its time, that Williams was arguably the most technologically advanced car in Formula 1 history.
But McLaren is right up there as well, and the MP4/13 remains one of the most dominant cars of its era, at a time when Formula 1 was evolving rapidly. It was not just the extra pedal that made the difference, because even after it was banned, McLaren remained out of reach.
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From Controversy to Road Cars
What makes this story even more interesting is what happened next, this concept did not disappear, but it evolved.
Fast forward to today, and that same ‘illegal’ DNA is tucked away inside every McLaren supercar, from the 12C to the 720S. They call it Brake Steer now, and it’s all handled by computers, not an extra pedal.
It is electronically controlled, refined, and seamlessly integrated, and the driver never sees an extra pedal.
But the philosophy is the same, control the inside rear wheel, help the car rotate, and reduce understeer.
A £50 idea from the 1990s quietly became part of modern supercar DNA.
The third pedal was not about loopholes alone, it was about imagination. McLaren did not invent more power, they invented a better way to use grip.
Sometimes, the most disruptive ideas are not the loudest, they are the ones quietly waiting beneath your feet.
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Photo by LSDSL (CC BY-SA 3.0) via WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
