McLaren won the constructors’ championship in 2024 for the first time since 1998 in the final race at Abu Dhabi. They beat Ferrari to end the years of domination by Red Bull.
To help one of their drivers secure the title, they need to jump straight out of the blocks. Their slow start that season cost Lando Norris a proper try at defeating Max Verstappen. However, it is believed the car could be even stronger this term and could dominate the season.
George Russell believes McLaren are the favourites
Mercedes driver George Russell thinks McLaren will be the team to beat. The Papaya team have the momentum from the 2024 season behind them and if they learn from their mistakes, they could be formidable. However, Russell does believe this could come at a cost of the 2026 season.
The Brit said: “Looking at how dominant McLaren were they are the favourites [going] into this year. It is going to be interesting – that whoever continues to develop will win the championship, but could pay the price in 2026. We saw it in 2021. I still expect McLaren to be at the forefront.”
The issue with winning the championship is you get less development time in the wind tunnel and CFD. This could be detrimental to maintaining their winning form and winning a second consecutive championship. If they do get into a close fight, McLaren might decide to focus on the 2025 car, and not focus as much time on the 2026 car. The 2026 season introduces new regulations so will require great focus.
Can McLaren learn from mistakes in 2024
McLaren made many mistakes in the 2024 season costing their drivers a shot at launching a title charge. A big issue is their car wasn’t fast enough to compete with Red Bull until Miami. Up to that point, Verstappen was dominating the season having won all but one race. This left Lando Norris a huge mountain to climb to properly challenge.
McLaren also failed to choose a main driver once it was clear only Norris was in the title hunt. This led to Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri taking points off the Brit in Hungary and Italy, costing Norris vital points. They needed to choose a main driver to back, instead of going with ‘papaya rules‘.
“Both our drivers could have won”
Zak Brown says McLaren “got it wrong” after Norris and Piastri miss out at Silverstone#F1 #BritishGP https://t.co/bb9BIp6R6x
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 8, 2024
The pit wall also made many blunders. They were far too conservative with strategy cost their drivers many points. To secure both titles, going aggressive with strategy will win you races. Silverstone is a prime example where both drivers were aggrieved with strategy. Oscar Piastri was left out too long on a wet track, while Norris waited too long to box onto slicks.
