Although most Formula 1 fans are mainly concerned about which driver wins the championship each season, it was the Constructors’ Championship that went down to the wire in 2024.
Max Verstappen took home his fourth Drivers’ Championship with two races to spare, clinging onto his lead despite Red Bull’s relative struggles this season.
However, heading into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen’s team were already out of contention to win both titles.
Sergio Perez is under pressure and it’s easy to see why given he finished the season nearly 300 points behind his teammate.
This meant it was a straight shootout between McLaren and Ferrari with Zak Brown’s team having a 21-point advantage heading into the race.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locked out the front row of the grid and despite Piastri being taken out by Verstappen at the first corner, the Brit delivered a perfect performance to win McLaren’s first Constructors’ Championship this century.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
666 |
| 2 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
652 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
589 |
| 4 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
468 |
| 5 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
94 |
| 6 |
Alpine F1 Team |
65 |
| 7 |
Haas F1 Team |
58 |
| 8 |
Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team |
46 |
| 9 |
Williams F1 Team |
17 |
| 10 |
Sauber F1 Team |
4 |
Both Ferrari drivers joined him on the podium, but it wasn’t enough to overturn the deficit and the fantastic performances McLaren have delivered all year paid off.
Nico Rosberg was speaking on Sky Sports F1 (8/12 3:06 pm) and shared what Red Bull and Mercedes personnel had told him about how they view McLaren.
To have gone from the back of the grid at the beginning of the 2023 season to win the championship is a feat that has forced the rest of the paddock to look up and take notice.
Nico Rosberg says Red Bull staff ‘in awe’ of McLaren development this season
Talking about McLaren’s championship win, Rosberg said: “Yeah, you say all the departments are working [at McLaren].
“You hear from the rival teams, like when I speak to Red Bull or Mercedes, they say they’ve really nailed it.
READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine
“The geometry on the car, maximises the tyres, gets the most out of the tyres.
“The aerodynamics, every piece on the car is like really at the limit. Even some of the flex, there’s some limitation there and they’ve really maximised every single area.
“So, the other teams are really in awe of that technological progress that McLaren has made and just an incredible performance.”
Red Bull now have to learn lessons from McLaren in the post-Adrian Newey era
Christian Horner’s Red Bull team have now won four driver’s titles on the bounce, but only achieved a team and driver double on two of those occasions.
Valtteri Bottas outperformed Perez in 2021 when Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s title battle went down the final lap, before the Mexican driver was outclassed by both McLaren drivers – and four other races – to finish eighth in the standings this year.
Adrian Newey leaving Red Bull coincided with the team’s downturn but the team have been quick to dismiss that as a coincidence.
Newey joins Aston Martin in March but stopped working on the F1 project at the beginning of the year and while he’s unlikely to have had a silver bullet that would have solved their development woes, it’s hard to believe he wouldn’t have contributed.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links
Verstappen was making car changes Red Bull’s factory wasn’t aware of at times to work out where they had gone wrong in their development cycle.
In contrast, team principal Andrea Stella had to convince McLaren to avoid installing updates as he was concerned about developing the same problems other teams had faced, particaulrly when introducing new floors to their cars.
McLaren’s less rushed approach has paid off but whether that will work in 2025 is yet to be seen.
