F1 2024 Constructors’ Championship: McLaren’s hopes of holding off Ferrari and Red Bull in title race analysed | F1 News

While Max Verstappen is on the brink of sealing the drivers’ crown, the final three rounds of the 2024 Formula 1 season will be a potentially thrilling climax to the battle for the constructors’ championship.

Verstappen’s remarkable victory at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix all but ended Lando Norris’ title challenge, but in a race of teams where the Dutchman’s Red Bull team are clear underdogs to leaders McLaren and second-placed Ferrari.

The competition has ebbed and flowed throughout the season, with Mercedes even threatening to join the chase with three wins in four races over the summer before pulling away.

Now it’s down to the season-ending triple header, which starts under the lights of Las Vegas before moving on to the Sprint Weekend in Qatar and finishing in Abu Dhabi with each session live. Sky Sports F1.

It may have been a disappointing weekend overall for McLaren in Brazil, but they still managed to extend their constructors’ championship lead over Ferrari.

A one-two that Norris led from team-mate Oscar Piastri in the sprint, along with sixth and eighth respectively in the race, extended the Woking team’s lead to 36 points.

Charles Leclerc finished ahead of Norris in the race, but the departure of Carlos Sainz meant McLaren’s lead extended into Saturday and Sunday in Sao Paulo.

Verstappen’s brilliant victory in the rain kept Red Bull almost in touch, 49 points behind third-placed McLaren.

What points are there?

Each team can receive a maximum of 44 points in a typical race weekend, with 25 points going to the winner, 18 to the runner-up driver, and an additional point available for the fastest lap of the race.

That’s what will be on offer in Las Vegas and the season finale in Abu Dhabi, but in Qatar there are a further 15 points for each constructor, with eight points going to the Sprint winner and seven to the runner-up.

It’s worth remembering that even if a team managed to pull off an impressive feat of one-two, or double one-two on a Sprint weekend, their lead is unlikely to extend a full length, given all the possibilities. others will also earn points.

It is impossible for McLaren or any other team to win the title in Las Vegas, as they must be 104 points clear of their rivals at the end of the weekend. Even if McLaren claimed a one-two and Ferrari left Vegas empty-handed, the gap would still be just 80 points ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix.

A more realistic opportunity and goal for McLaren would be to keep the championship from falling in Abu Dhabi, to achieve which they would need to be 45 points clear of their rivals heading into the final round. That would extend their current lead to 9 points over the next two events.

However, neutrals would definitely like to see March before the end of the season.

Should it be tightened up, it’s worth remembering that the first or second tie will be decided by which team has won more races this season. Red Bull has won eight, while McLaren and Ferrari have won five each.

If two teams had the same number of wins, it would then come down to which team finished second the most, and so on.

Why is the constructors’ championship so important?

It’s not romantic, but the basic answer is money. While the Drivers’ Championship carries more prestige, the Constructors’ Championship is what dictates the distribution of Formula 1’s sizeable prize basket.

The package is 50 per cent of F1’s commercial rights revenues for each season, so the $3.2bn (£2.3bn) profit for 2023 would result in an estimated fund of $1.6bn (£1.2bn).

After some bonuses are deducted, such as Ferrari’s five percent to recognize their contribution to the sport’s global popularity, the rest of the money is split between all 10 teams, with the champions getting about 14 percent and the team that follows. the latter claims six percent.

Therefore, in 2023, Red Bull’s winners would earn around $140m (£106m), with each team below them getting progressively less.

The gap between each position in 2023 is estimated to be £7m, which goes some way to explaining why the battle for midfield and even end positions is as fierce as it is up front.

However, this year in particular, there is much more on the line than money as McLaren and Ferrari both look to end championship droughts.

Ferrari last won the constructors’ title in 2008, while McLaren’s last win was in 1998. McLaren finished top in 2007 but were disqualified after the Spygate scandal.

These are two of the sport’s most famous teams, both desperate to end the dominance of Red Bull and Mercedes after Ferrari’s recent title win.

While there’s no doubt that McLaren team principal Andrea Stella and his Ferrari counterpart Frederic Wasser have done a good job leading their teams ahead of the 2023 season, delivering silverware would provide significant momentum for one of them.

Why are Red Bull big underdogs?

Given that Red Bull have eight race wins, compared to McLaren and Ferrari’s five, anyone not following the 2024 F1 season could be forgiven for wondering how They are the third in the ranking of builders and are seen as obvious outsiders.

There’s a hint that all eight of those wins came from Verstappen, but even that statistic doesn’t capture the full extent of his team-mate Sergio Perez’s remarkable run.

Perez started his campaign in very strong form, claiming four podiums as he finished in the top five in each of the first six races. But this was back when the RB20 was still clearly the class of the field.

In the next 15 races, Perez’s best finish is sixth, while he finished seventh four times and eighth three times.

Given the scrappy nature of Red Bull’s field of drivers, it’s quite astonishing that the Mexican still holds his place in three races.

His form has only taken a turn for the worse recently, with just two points in his last five Grands Prix and three early qualifying exits during that run.

Unfortunately for Red Bull, they can’t be sure that Perez will score any points over the final three rounds, meaning that even if Verstappen won all three races, they wouldn’t claim the points needed to chase down McLaren. for

In contrast, McLaren and Ferrari’s success is based on two drivers consistently scoring points.

Oscar Piastre has continued to develop impressively in his second F1 season, taking two wins and proving his team-mate’s title challenge at times.

Even with his recent dip in form, the Australian continues to score useful points that could be crucial to getting McLaren over the line.

Departing Ferrari Carlos Sainz has made some wonder whether the Italian team will regret the decision to replace him with Hamilton next year, with his performances this year leaving little to choose between him and Leclerc.

While Stella and Wasser can count on both of their drivers to deliver almost every weekend, Red Bull won’t stand a chance unless Perez has as much of a rise as a fall.

Which team is best suited for the rest of the regions?

The last three tracks each have different characteristics that are likely to cause different breakdown patterns.

On paper, which may prove to matter little, Ferrari should be very strong in Las Vegas, where success is largely dictated by drag strip performance and straight line speed.

The Ferrari car has great mechanical grip, so it does well in slow-speed corners, and the engine seems to be quite vulnerable from the roundabouts too. Those were the qualities that played a big part in their dominant one-two at the United States Grand Prix last month.

However, Qatar’s Losail International Circuit is almost the complete opposite of Vegas, as it mainly features high-speed corners, making having good aerodynamics likely an important element.

McLaren were quick in Qatar last year as they claimed a double podium and Piastre won the Sprint. Their 2024 car is still the car to beat when it comes to high-speed turns, so they should have an advantage there.

Abu Dhabi is halfway between Las Vegas and Qatar, so McLaren and Ferrari should be relatively evenly matched come the end of the season.

Red Bull’s place in all of this depends on whether Sao Paulo was a one-off or if progress has actually been made to restore the RB20.

Ignoring the wet race at Interlagos, Saturday’s Sprint was dry and Verstappen had plenty of pace despite trailing Leclerc for most of the short race, but the Dutchman did not have the advantage he had on Sunday.

Regardless of whether Red Bull has truly returned in terms of pace, the slow-speed corners at Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi are the kind that have troubled the RB20 at times this season, making those two events potentially difficult.

Formula 1 returns with the Las Vegas Grand Prix from November 22-24, live on Sky Sports F1, where Max Verstappen could seal the championship. Stream the last three F1 races and more with a NOW Sports Month membership. no contract, cancel anytime