Constructors’ Championship won with most races to spare: McLaren close to breaking the record
The current record
It was at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix when Red Bull, thanks to Max Verstappen’s victory at Suzuka, was mathematically crowned Constructors’ World Champion for the sixth and most recent time in its history. That triumph naturally triggered celebrations in Milton Keynes, and not just because of the world title itself. With that success, Red Bull entered Formula 1 history as the team able to clinch the championship with the greatest number of races remaining before the season finale: six.
The Constructors’ standings
Now, however, that record is under serious threat. This weekend, Formula 1 arrives in Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where McLaren could be the team to rewrite history. Having dominated the championship so far with both of its drivers, current World Championship leader Oscar Piastri and his closest pursuer Lando Norris, the Woking-based outfit has collected 12 victories and 27 podiums across the 16 races contested so far, amassing a total of 617 points. Ferrari, sitting second in the standings, trails by a massive 337 points, with the fight for ‘best of the rest’ involving the Scuderia, Mercedes, and Red Bull.
The conditions to win in Baku
With 389 points still available from now until the end of the season, the chances of McLaren’s rivals catching the ‘papaya’ cars are already slim and could become mathematically impossible if the British team outscores Ferrari by at least 9 points in Baku. In that case, McLaren would be crowned Constructors’ World Champion with seven races still to go, a feat no other team has ever achieved in Formula 1 history.
It is not just Ferrari’s already faint hopes that need to be considered, but also those of Mercedes and Red Bull. The Anglo-German squad would need to make up 12 points on McLaren, while Red Bull faces a gap of 33. Both teams will be doing everything they can to prevent their own records from slipping into McLaren’s hands.
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