McLaren makes constructor’s statement in ‘unprecedented’ F1 season

McLaren boss Andrea Stella believes winning the 2024 constructors’ title would be a major “milestone” for the team in what he called an “unprecedented” season.

The Woking team enjoys a 30-point lead over Ferrari ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix and knows that if they beat the Scuderia by 15 points or more, they will take their first constructors’ title since 1998 and their first since Lewis won Hamilton’s 2008 drivers’ title .

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who started third and fourth, scored maximum points in the sprint, while the Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz only finished fifth and seventh on the Lusail grid.

In 2024, for the first time in history, four teams – McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes – won multiple races, with those teams’ seven drivers, excluding Sergio Perez, all achieving multiple wins, another new record.

When speaking about the title situation, Stella felt that a win in the Constructors’ Championship would provide McLaren with a strong base from which to mount an attack on the Drivers’ Championship.

“It’s one of those with dream children, like they’re all the same,” Stella told the media RacingNews365 the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.

“I think the Drivers’ Championship is more important because people remember the Drivers’ Champion rather than the Constructors’ Champion, and in itself the Drivers’ Championship is perhaps the ultimate you want to achieve.”

“When I think about the development of McLaren, where we are right now, the constructors’ championship is just an incredible goal because it’s obviously something we can compete for, but there’s still quite a long way to go.” It is fantastic to be part of this search.

“It’s interesting that Lando himself, when I spoke to the drivers several times during the season, felt that the designers’ ones are more important now – where we are for our development – it’s the foundation to confirm and want to build.”

“They felt like we were building something together, like we were going to get this milestone on the ground and then once everything was in place we could get to work on the drivers.”

The article continues below.

The high level of 2024

As for the level of competition in 2024, Stella felt the level was unlike anything ever seen in Grand Prix racing.

“Formula 1 2024 is, in my opinion, completely unprecedented in terms of the competitiveness of multiple teams,” he added.

“There are four teams that have delivered a car that can win the world championship based on its performance, and there are four teams that demonstrate robustness, consistency and reliability in the way they work.”

“You may be better than me at going through the history of Formula 1, but I don’t think that has ever happened by these standards – the level of Formula 1 in 2024 is unprecedented.”