McLaren can break a sensational record held by Red Bull
After years of Red Bull dominance, the 2024 Formula 1 season appeared to have ended the trend of championships being decided early in the year. Initially, the Red Bull-Max Verstappen combination was dominant, but then a rapidly improving McLaren team challenged their supremacy. However, this season has somewhat reversed that narrative, with the papaya team taking back the role of clear leader. While the Drivers’ Championship battle remains open—unlike previous years when Red Bull focused on Verstappen—the Constructors’ Championship has been effectively sealed for quite some time.
McLaren enters the summer break with an impressive 559 points and a remarkable lead over Ferrari. The Woking-based team has just achieved four consecutive 1-2 finishes, and by adding three more, they would not only set a new record for consecutive 1-2 results (surpassing the five consecutive 1-2s achieved by Mercedes and Ferrari in the past), but would also mathematically secure the Constructors’ Championship in Azerbaijan, with a staggering seven Grands Prix still to go.
If McLaren achieves 1-2 finishes at Zandvoort, Monza, and Baku, their points total would rise to 688, making it impossible for any other team to catch them—even if Ferrari maximised their points haul and finished the season with 687 points.
No team in Formula 1 history has ever clinched the Constructors’ Championship seven races before the season’s end. This dominant McLaren squad has the potential to make that history. If they fall short, they could still equal Red Bull’s record of winning the Constructors’ title six races early, as they did in 2023. McLaren would only need to finish the Singapore Grand Prix with a 304-point gap over second place—a margin just five points larger than the one they currently hold.
In Formula 1’s history, the Constructors’ Championship has been awarded 67 times. In about 20% of cases (13 times), the title was secured before the fourth-to-last race of the season. Of those early victories, five were achieved under the current 25-points-for-a-win system. However, blaming the points system alone would be inaccurate. The current scoring system actually rewards consistent podium finishes more generously than older systems. For example, in a hypothetical “linear” race with a team scoring a 1-2 and their closest rival finishing third and fourth, the rival would now earn 63% of the winner’s points (27 vs 43), compared to only 44% under the historic 10-6-4-3-2-1 system.
The key issue is the performance gap on track. Since the introduction of hybrid power units, Formula 1 has seen seasons where one team has demonstrated clear superiority from the start—something that has proven impossible to bridge, especially with the ban on private testing. This has resulted in championships being effectively decided early and makes McLaren’s current pursuit of an unprecedented early Constructors’ title both plausible and historic.
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