For the first time since the 2014 Formula 1 season, McLaren, the team from Woking, has officially taken the lead in the Constructors Championship. This feat has been marked by beating the raging bulls from Milton Keynes.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix set the stage for McLaren to steal the lead from Red Bull, with only 8 points separating both teams. The race established near the Caspian Sea did not disappoint. McLaren showed why they are the team to beat, with Piastri taking the win away from Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris resorted to a one-stop strategy to finish fourth ahead of his championship rival, Max Verstappen.
The result catapulted McLaren to the top of the Constructors by 20 points. With seven races to go and a raft of points to still hand out, they are now the team to beat. But can this momentum by the Papaya team continue? Or will more teams see the opportunity to spoil the party?
McLaren’s Winning Momentum
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In the lead-up to the Chinese Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing appeared to have outclassed all their competitors, setting the stage for another dominating season. Two weeks later, when Formula 1 arrived in the coastal city of Florida, McLaren trumped the field in the developmental race, integrating ten new upgrades to the MCL38.
A development we would see for Lando Norris’ side of the garage. Now, the questions would flood in. Where do these upgrades put McLaren in the development race? Will these upgrades see them shoot up the field? Or will they take a turn for the worse? The answer came on the Sunday for the Miami Grand Prix.
On Lap 28, Norris maintained his lead as his rivals stopped for Hard tyres, only to be caught off guard by a crash at Turn 3 involving Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant. A crash which bought out the Safety Car, and McLaren responded by pitting the British driver. After he came out of the pit lane with a brand new set of Hard tyres, Norris retained the lead. A lead that did not get taken away.
Norris Secures First Victory, but McLaren’s Success Doesn’t Stop There
Norris didn’t have to wait long, as he completed Lap 57 to claim his first-ever Formula 1 victory. But it would not be his only win. McLaren continued to mount pressure on Red Bull. But it wouldn’t be until the Hungarian Grand Prix that McLaren would maximise their potential under a controversial decision, Giving Oscar Piastri his first-ever maiden win in Formula 1.
But the Papaya charge would not stop there. Lando Norris would send a clear statement to Max Verstappen at his home Grand Prix in the Netherlands that McLaren has the fastest car on the grid. He was finishing over 22 seconds ahead of the Dutch driver and striking a major blow to Red Bull’s title aspirations.
Unfortunately, Red Bull has struggled with no sign of improvement. McLaren stole the show away from Ferrari in Baku, allowing Oscar Piastri to take his second win in Formula 1. Now, McLaren would have four wins to add to their tally for the season, giving them the lead in the championship by 20 points.
This would mark McLaren’s taking the championship lead back to Woking. The last time McLaren had claimed the championship lead was after the Australian Grand Prix back in 2014. The team only held an eight-point advantage over Mercedes before the next race in Malaysia. When Mercedes solidified their championship status by taking a 1-2 finish with Lewis Hamilton. Taking the victory over his teammate Nico Rosberg.
McLaren isn’t the only team that has been such a headache to Red Bull’s fight for another constructor’s title. One team that made its presence known early in the season was Ferrari when their Spaniard Carlos Sainz took the chequered flag in Australia.
Ferrari’s Shocking Bid for Championship Glory
Ferrari made its intentions in the championship fight in the early stages of the season, being the second fastest car on the grid in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. However, it was gifted an opportunity in Australia due to Max Verstappen’s RB20 suffering a brake failure, cementing Maranello’s team presence in the championship fight.
However, after McLaren took the spotlight in Miami, Ferrari demonstrated that this would not be a two-way fight between Red Bull and McLaren. Formula 1 returned to the principality of Monaco with home favourite Charles Leclerc breaking the curse. To take a long-awaited victory around the Circuit De Monaco.
After eight races, Ferrari became the main contender to challenge Red Bull. With the sheer dominance of the Milton Keynes team during the first half of the season, it did not look like anyone could challenge aside from McLaren, even though Ferrari wasn’t close behind.
Ferrari’s Resurgence Falls Short at the Italian Grand Prix
But the next resurgence would not come until the Italian Grand Prix, when Ferrari bought nine upgrades to the SF-24. And did they work? Not exactly. One could argue that they won the race. Ferrari’s upgrades weren’t the result of Charles Leclerc taking his second win of the season at the ‘Temple of Speed.’
Ferrari stole the win from what was going to be a McLaren victory around Monza by switching to an alternate strategy, with Charles only stopping once during the race. On Lap 16, Leclerc would make his only stop of the race but lost to Lando Norris, who undercut the Monogasque driver. However, during the race, Ferrari noticed that both McLaren drivers would struggle with their tyres, and Ferrari rolled the dice to keep Charles Leclerc out.
But the only momentum McLaren would have would be after both drivers cleared the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz. But on Lap 48, with five laps, the gap between Leclerc and Piastri would be over 8 seconds. Unfortunately, the Australian driver could not muster enough of a challenge. And Charles crossed the line 2.6 seconds ahead to give Ferrari a home win around Monza.
This win saw them 39 points behind Red Bull in the constructors championship, with McLaren closing the gap to only 8 points. So it wouldn’t just be the Woking team that would be gunning from the Milton Keynes team, but also the scarlet red team from Maranello, which showed they are not giving up this season.
McLaren Lock Horns With Ferrari To The End?
While McLaren has now passed Red Bull in the constructor’s championship, Ferrari has set its sights on closing the gap. The Scarlet Red team is 31 points behind the Milton Keynes-based team. But for them to challenge the new championship leaders, they will need to close the gap down from 31 points to 51 points.
After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Ferrari is more than capable of challenging the Papaya team for race wins. With both teams continuing to upgrade their cars, it is anyone’s guess who will take championship glory away from Red Bull with seven rounds left of the 2024 Formula 1 championship.
If you would like to learn more news about the world of Formula 1? Then why not check out “Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Baku’s Technical Street Circuit” or “Aston Martin Racing: When Will See The Winning Results?”
