McLaren founding member Tyler Alexander has passed away at the age of 75.
The American helped create the iconic team with Bruce McLaren in 1963 and oversaw five straight championships in the CanAm series between 1967 and 1971. He was centrally involved with the team for 40 years and held various responsibilities across multiple series.
Alexander also oversaw McLaren's Indy 500 victories in 1974 and 1976 when he was crew chief for Johnny Rutherford. He briefly left McLaren to co-found the Mayer Motor Racing IndyCar team in the early 1980s -- recruiting a young Adrian Newey in the process -- before returning to Woking in 1989 after a brief spell as team principal of Carl Haas' Beatrice Lola F1 outfit.
In his second spell with the team he went on to work with world champions Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton, while also being re-joined by technical guru Newey. He retired in 2008.
A tribute on McLaren's website quoted Ron Dennis as saying: "Quite simply, Tyler lived and breathed McLaren - and, following his retirement in late 2008, during which season he attended every Grand Prix and played an important part in securing the team's and Lewis Hamilton's world championship success, he remained a much loved and greatly valued chum to many of us, regularly visiting our Woking factory to catch up with pals old and new. Tyler's was a friendship that you could really rely upon; he was a man who would never let you down.
"In fact, Tyler was one of the finest of the old school: hardy, humble and wise, leaving a reputation and a legacy that will remain indelible in the history of international motorsport. So, on behalf of all at McLaren, I'd like to pay heartfelt tribute to one of our team's founding fathers, and to offer our deepest condolences to his many friends and his ever-loving companion, Jane Nottage, who has always stood by him, valiant to the very end."
Other tributes to the American can be read here.