A few days before the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Lando Norris looked me in the eye and admitted that at that point in the season he and McLaren were simply “fighting for points”. McLaren came out of the gate limping in the 2023 F1 campaign, only to fall into a running condition early in the season.
Norris and McLaren are currently the F1 constructors' champions.
The team's remarkable recovery, which began in the second half of the 2023 season, culminated in Sunday's final race of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. McLaren entered the weekend with a 21-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors' title race, but needed another solid weekend to win their first title since 1998.
On Saturday, Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri took the first step towards that goal by securing a front row spot during qualifying. Today, that dream came true.
But the gods of F1, and Ferrari, did not make it easy.
Norris held the lead on the opening lap, which has been his challenge this season, but chaos reigned behind him. The most notable moment on the opening lap was the collision between Max Verstappen and Piastri, which sent the McLaren driver into a spin and dragged him to the back of the field. As a result, Norris was left alone at the front, with Carlos Sainz Jr. in the rearview mirror and Charles Leclerc, who had started from 19th place and had been charging hard to score points on the first lap of the race. I refrained.
Norris maintained the lead throughout the first half of the race, but the team's next big moment came during a series of green flag pit stops. Ferrari brought on Leclerc and then Sainz to put pressure on McLaren. The team where Norris stalled had to respond with a perfect pit stop of their own to cover the Scuderia.
For McLaren, a two-second pit stop was exactly what they needed and exactly what they delivered.
Norris returned to the fray still in first place, with a 1.5 second lead over Sainz, who was second. By lap 37, Norris had increased his lead to more than three seconds, and everyone in the McLaren garage and back at the McLaren Technology Center felt a little better.
By lap 46, Norris had increased his lead over Sainz to more than five seconds, but the main concern at that point was whether the hard tires the team had fitted 20 laps earlier would start to wear out. McLaren told Norris that the next few laps would be “crucial” as Leclerc, who pitted six laps before Norris to switch to hard, was starting to deal with tire deterioration.
With 10 laps remaining, the difference between him and Sainz behind him was almost 6 seconds. By lap 52, Norris had pushed the lead to more than six seconds, and with five laps remaining, the gap was more than seven seconds. Meanwhile, Piastri, who was relegated to the back of the field after an accident with Verstappen and then given a 10-second penalty for his subsequent collision with Franco Colapinto, has clawed his way back to 10th.
It wasn't long before Norris took the checkered flag and McLaren took the title.
“It's an incredible feeling,” Norris told Nico Rosberg trackside. “Not just for myself, but for the whole team. The team has done a great job of bouncing back from the situation we were in. I'm so proud of everyone, it's been a great journey and we've finished the season like this. It’s just perfect to be able to finish it.”
McLaren's turnaround began mid-season a year ago, with the first signs appearing with Norris' dramatic second place at the British Grand Prix. This result placed McLaren in 5th place in the constructors' standings, just ahead of Alpine, and at the next race, the Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris scored P2 and led the team to 4th place (at that point it was Ferrari).
As the season progressed, McLaren continued to move up the rankings, eventually overtaking Aston Martin and finishing fourth.
What is the reason for that climb? As Zak Brown described it to me late last season, it's “the faster race car”, but it's also “the best driver pair on the grid”, as McLaren's CEO described Piastri and Norris.
2024 started with high expectations for McLaren, and although McLaren started late this year as well, they were in 3rd place in the rankings before the summer break, but in the end Norris and Piastri edged out Ferrari in the Hungarian Grand Prix and rose to 2nd place. did. The Australian driver held off Norris in P2 to take his first career Grand Prix victory.
In Azerbaijan, Piastri moved into the lead with his second win of the season and second of his career.
He came close to clinching the title a week ago at the Qatar Grand Prix, but his celebrations were put to rest when Norris was handed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty towards the end of the Qatar Grand Prix.
Now you can drink champagne.
“Me and Zach said we were going to get absolutely slammed tonight,” Norris said. “We're going to celebrate, this is a historic moment for the team. They're going to want to celebrate, I want to celebrate with them, and it's going to be a good night.”
McLaren has lived up to its promise and potential this season, but it is stressed that even those at Woking's McLaren Technology Center were unsure whether this season's title race would be on their cards. It's worth it. When I broached the idea with Brawn a season ago before the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, the McLaren boss suggested he would do his best but that the 2024 title race would probably be tough.
Asked if the constructors' title could be won next year, Brown replied: “I think it's probably a little early.” “I'd like to think we can compete for the championship. We're certainly very close.”
Still, Brown is clear he will do his best.
“Well, the team is very confident. From what we've seen so far, the offseason has unfolded very well. So, you know, we're going to do it. That's what I This is our wish,” Brown said. “I think we'll have to wait and see what comes out of the oven with our race car, but I'm very proud of the trajectory we've had so far and getting this many podiums and finishing 10 seconds behind Max. I like it.” [Verstappen] At the beginning of this year, the green flag was issued and they fell behind in laps, but I can only take my hat off to the progress of McLaren's men and women.
“So I hope we can continue to make progress like this. If we do, I think we'll be fighting for the constructors sooner or later.”
We arrived early.
