McLaren winning - and hopefully safe | PH Footnote

26-year wait for F1 constructors' title ended in Abu Dhabi - McLaren's timing couldn't have been better

This year’s Formula 1 season has been an absolute belter. Though all the signs pointed towards another dominant year for Max Verstappen, bagging seven wins in the first ten races, a sudden drop in form combined with newfound pace from McLaren, Ferrari and occasionally Mercedes set us up for a spectacular second half of the season. Verstappen would ultimately bag the driver’s title in Las Vegas, but a dominant performance from Lando Norris in yesterday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix sealed McLaren's first constructors’ championship since 1998.

McLaren entered the final race with a comfortable 21-point advantage over Ferrari in second, while a front-row lockout with Norris on pole and teammate Oscar Piastri starting behind him set the outfit up for an easy win. However, once the lights went out, an opportunistic move from Verstappen into turn one dropped Piastri to the back of the field, bumping Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc (having started 19th) into second and eighth respectively. And although Leclerc would climb all the way up to third come the chequered flag, neither could keep up with a rapid Norris, whose victory at Yas Marina was all that was needed to seal the title.

“McLaren are the 2024 Constructors’ Championship winners. I’m incredibly proud of the entire team here, both trackside and back at the factory. It’s been 26 years since we’ve won the Championship. It’s a wonderful feeling this evening. Our work has paid off and we’ll be celebrating with everyone," said Andrea Stella, McLaren team principal.

Going off performance alone, this was always going to be McLaren’s title to lose. An upgrade for the Miami Grand Prix earlier this year suddenly put the MCL38 onto the leading pace, and come the summer break it was arguably the fastest car on the grid. However, a resurgent Ferrari in the latter half of the season, with Lerclerc winning in Monza and Austin while Sainz won in Mexico, kept McLaren on its toes in the final few races. This year would also see seven different winners, all of whom took multiple victories (the first time that's ever happened in F1), which, along with some costly errors, made McLaren’s constructors’ battle even harder and, ultimately, put paid to a Norris driver’s title hopes.

"The team have done an amazing job this season to come from where we were at the beginning. I’m so proud of everyone," said Norris, post-race. "It’s been a lovely journey and to end the season with another race win is perfect. A big thank you goes to everyone at McLaren, everyone in papaya, everyone who supported us this year. It’s been tough, but for us to win the Constructors’ Championship after 26 years is pretty special. I’ve learned a lot from this year, from the team and from competitors around me. I’m excited to get next year going.”

McLaren’s last constructors’ win was so long ago that neither of its current drivers had even been born. Adrian Newey’s MP4-13 dominated the 1998 season with Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard, with the former taking the drivers’ title. Hakkinen would take his second title a year later with the MP4-14 but, again, errors and dodgy reliability handed manufacturer bragging rights to Ferrari. It would have won the constructors’ title in 2007 had it not been disqualified for its role in Spy Gate, while Ferrari arguably had the quicker car and driver pairing during Lewis Hamilton’s championship year in 2008. It was in the running in 2010 and had the fastest car in 2012, but neither season garnered titles.

Since then, it’s been in a state of recovery. Lacklustre cars, an ill-fated partnership with Honda and a lack of sponsorship all plagued the Woking squad through much of the 2010s, though the ousting of McLaren legend Ron Dennis in 2016 for Zak Brown -initially regarded as a step backward - has seen the team’s fortunes turn in recent years. Danial Ricciardo’s win at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix was its first in nine years, while key personnel hires from Red Bull and Ferrari have helped turn around a dismal start to the ground effect era in 2022 to being regular victory contenders just two years later and, as of last night in Abu Dhabi, F1’s latest constructors’ champion.

And it’s looking promising for next year, too. On Monday, CYVN Holdings, an Abu Dhabi-based investment vehicle, completed the deal to buy McLaren Automotive from Mumtalakat, the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, which is said to include a non-controlling stake in the wider McLaren Group. When originally announced in October, the prospective change of owner was touted to result in 'transformative investment' for the manufacturer. Only time will tell how that plays out, but CYVN - which also owns a controlling stake in Gordon Murray Technologies - is apparently not short of Abu Dhabi-scale ambition.

For the race team at least, with stability in the regulations before the 2026 shakeup, there’s every possibility McLaren will carry its dominant pace in the desert through to next season. That said, Ferrari, now strengthened by the arrival of seven-time champ Hamilton, is said to be cooking up a rocket ship for 2025, and while Red Bull has gone off the boil somewhat, only a fool would discount Max Verstappen - especially after some of the miracle drives he’s pulled off this season. And there’s always a chance Mercedes will be up there with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who many regard as a superstar in the making. So McLaren probably heads into next year as narrow favourites, although if 2025 is anything like the one we’ve had in 2024, we might just be in for the most competitive F1 championship in history. Here's hoping.

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Julian Scott

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