Written by Aashna Singh, Edited by Meghana Sree
In a historic moment, McLaren took the lead of the F1 Constructors’ Championship after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix concluded on 15th September 2024.
Between Red Bull, who have led the standings for two years, and themselves, McLaren leads with 20 points. Alongside the team’s hard work and strategy calls, the drivers who race in the Papaya outfits deserve huge credit for taking the team to where they stand today.
Last season, after the summer break ended, the McLarens seemed to be faster than most of the other cars on track and fans were discussing that if they’d had this sort of pace from the start they would’ve taken the lead in the Constructors’ Championship early on. Unfortunately for them, Red Bull had already been dominating the season and were too far ahead, with 451 points by the end of the season.
Entering the 2024 season, everyone had high hopes for McLaren. They have steadily built an impressive lead, with five wins to their name so far this season. So, how did they do it?
The first couple races were won by Red Bull with both of their team cars finishing on the podium. The vision that Red Bull would be leading and winning the Constructors’ Championship was set in stone. They were already at 86 points by the third race.
But the consecutive two-time Constructors' Champions spoke too soon – in the fifth race of the season, Lando Norris took P2, granting McLaren fans hope.
The race after that, Norris took his maiden race win in Miami; the emotional win was taken on American soil when he beat Red Bull’s defending World Champion, Max Verstappen.
Before the sixth race weekend of the year, McLaren announced new upgrades for the car – a fresh front wing, front suspension and front brake duct, bodywork, floor, rear suspension, and rear brake ducts.
After the Miami Grand Prix something changed in the McLaren team and the races that followed were filled with celebratory radio messages, podiums, and of course, solid points to add into the Constructors’ Championship.
For the next five races, McLaren had their drivers winning the second biggest trophy. Significantly, in McLaren, there was never just one driver on the podium, something that can’t be said of Red Bull. Both Norris and Oscar Piastri were earning large sums of points to contribute to the team effort.
There was a slight bump in the road at the British Grand Prix, with Norris finishing P3 and Piastri finishing P4. Unbeknownst to them, the upcoming race would silence any remaining critics.
In the seventh race of the season, this year being only his second year of F1 racing, Piastri took his first Grand Prix win. Finishing behind Piastri was Norris, sealing a one-two finish for McLaren, and earning a total of 43 points from just one race.
Continuing his blazing run of form, Piastri secured P2 in the Belgium Grand Prix with Norris finishing P5. And climbing back to the top step, Norris claimed his second career race win at the Dutch Grand Prix, besting Verstappen, his closest rival in the Drivers’ Championship, with Piastri finishing in P4.
Following the next race, the two McLarens finished P2 and P3 while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took victory in Monza.
The next race being the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Piastri took the biggest trophy, ahead of Leclerc, and secured McLaren with P1 in the Constructors’ Championship. The following week, at the Singapore Grand Prix, Norris dominated the weekend, led all 62 laps on Sunday, and claimed his third career win.
So far, Norris has won the biggest trophy three times, and Piastri has held it up twice. Both drivers have been on the podium ten times in total.
But how did they really do it? What was their formula for success? Answering this question, we can observe that there are a few key things McLaren has done this season.
They’ve made two big, key upgrades on their MCL38. The first being aerodynamic improvements, in which McLaren introduced major upgrades in Miami earlier in the year, which saw immediate success, including Norris's victory. These aerodynamic changes focused on optimising airflow to the underfloor, leading to better downforce and cornering speeds across a variety of circuits.
The second was continued development. Despite their early-season success, McLaren staggered additional upgrades throughout the second half of the season. They aimed to cash in on improvements that had been accrued and tested, boosting their chances of challenging Red Bull more consistently.
They’ve also performed technical adjustments, the main one being wind tunnel testing. McLaren benefitted from having more wind tunnel testing time than Red Bull, thanks to F1's regulations. This allowed them to fine-tune their car’s aerodynamics and make strategic upgrades.
Finally, they have also had well-thought-out Strategic Decisions. McLaren balanced a cautious approach to implementing upgrades with the need to stay aggressive in development.
They were aware that slacking off could allow competitors to catch up, so they continued refining their cars throughout the season.
All of these key ideas have been put into the approach to reach the summit in the 2024 season. They’re now leading the rest of the pack, putting an end to Red Bull’s domination. What’s next in the 2024 season for McLaren? Will they be able to seal the Drivers’ Championship too with Norris? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
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