 The car struggled to compete with the other top teams and the season had McLaren fail to produce a podium finish for the first time since .Kevin Magnussen replaced Pérez for , and Ron Dennis, who had remained at arm's length since stepping down from the team principal role, returned as CEO of the operation.McLaren were the first team to officially launch their 2014 car, the MP4-29, which was revealed on 24 January 2014.