McLaren are Formula 1 constructors’ championships for the first time since 1998. They prevailed in their battle with Ferrari at last weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Woking outfit won the drivers’ title twice in the intervening quarter-century, first through Mika Hakkinen in 1999 and second through Lewis Hamilton in 2008. But Ferrari edged them out on both occasions.
In ’99, Eddie Irvine, Mika Salo and Michael Schumacher (who missed much of the season through injury) combined to deny McLaren by four points. And in ’08, Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen weren’t strong enough as a duo to beat Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen.
The formidable duo of Hamilton and Fernando Alonso scored the most points in 2007, but McLaren were thrown out of the championship amid the Spygate scandal. After a period of dominance from Red Bull, Mercedes and then Red Bull again, F1’s most iconic British team is at last back on top.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri put up 666 points, 14 more than Ferrari and 77 more than defending champions Red Bull. Piastri could only manage 10th in Abu Dhabi after an early spin, and Ferrari scored a double podium with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, but it wasn’t enough for a late turnaround as Norris won the race.
Among the top four teams, the Scuderia are now enduring the longest barren run (16 years). Many will view Hamilton and Leclerc as the best line-up in F1, giving the team a huge opportunity in 2025 if they deliver a contending car.
Lewis Hamilton congratulates McLaren on winning the F1 constructors’ title
Hamilton surprisingly left McLaren at the end of the 2012 season to join Mercedes. It proved to be a masterstroke as he won six titles in seven campaigns between 2014 and 2020.
Hamilton regretted the circumstances of his McLaren exit, but he’s continually wished the team well in the years since. And he was delighted to see them seal the title at Yas Marina, even if it came at the expense of his new team Ferrari.
Ferrari will at least be able to spend more time in the wind tunnel than McLaren next year as per the regulations. This will be particularly valuable not only for 2025, but also for the 2026 regulation changes.
Writing on his Instagram story, Hamilton said he was ‘so happy’ for his old team. He urged them to soak in the celebrations before switching focus to their title defence.
“Big congratulations to McLaren,” he wrote. “So happy for you all, enjoy this moment.”
How McLaren have already updated their garage after ending championship drought
The drivers’ title is the prize everybody wants to win, and that remains in the hands of Max Verstappen. But McLaren’s 2024 triumph does feel particularly significant.
Yes, it ends a 26-year wait. More than that, though, it symbolically completes the team’s gruelling journey since the arrival of Zak Brown in 2016, when they were a lower midfield outfit.
McLaren added a new laurel wreath to their garage before the Abu Dhabi test on Tuesday. They wasted no time marking the achievement, and understandably so.
Norris declared after the chequered flag that next year would be his year after his contribution to a collective achievement in 2024. Nico Rosberg didn’t like Norris’ radio message because he felt it created ‘unnecessary’ pressure.
