Ilmor was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in 1983, as an independent British Formula One engine manufacturer.

[4] At the same time, the small Special Projects part of the company, which between 2003 and 2011 had been contracted to co-develop, co-assembly, arrangement, preparation and tune up Honda's IndyCar Series engines, split away to become a separate company, owned by Mario Illien and Roger Penske.

In 1991, Ilmor entered Formula One as the engine supplier to the Leyton House team (formerly March).

Pacific only managed to qualify seven times in thirty-two attempts, although the engine was not implicated in this poor display.

[3] After a winless 2006 season, McLaren bounced back and won the Drivers' Championship in 2008 with Lewis Hamilton.

In 2001, Paul Morgan was killed whilst landing his vintage aeroplane at Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire.

The Mercedes engine started the season with a clear advantage, with Mercedes-engined cars scoring the majority of the points.