In the mid-nineties McLaren was trying to recover the competitiveness of the first seasons of the decade, but without success. The car for 1996, the MP4 / 11, was equipped with the Mercedes engine and debuted in tests at Estoril with Alain Prost at the wheel. Designed by Neil Oatley with Henri Durand and Steve Nichols, the MP4 / 11 was entrusted to Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard. The results were fairly consistent, but they never went beyond Coulthard's second place finish in Monte Carlo. McLaren finished fourth in the championship; Hakkinen finished fifth in the drivers' championship, Coulthard seventh.