McLaren’s 2024 F1 Season Review: Ending a Decades-Long Title Drought

In Last Word On Sport’s series of 2024 F1 Reviews, we turn to McLaren, who claimed their first Constructors’ title since 1998.

McLaren’s successful 2024 with lessons learned

As Lando Norris passed the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi, the entire McLaren crew in the paddock and their home base in Woking cheered on as they took home their first Constructors’ title of the 21st century.

McLaren have won the title 14 points ahead of runners-up Ferrari, and remarkably, 77 points ahead of last year’s champions, Red Bull.

The strength of the title-winning MCL38

Key improvements in design

Ever since the beginning of the 2024 season, the MCL38 has already shown itself to be a major improvement compared to its predecessor, the MCL60.

Under the leadership of Team Principal Andrea Stella, the team had three key aspects to improve on for the current machinery – tyre performance, aerodynamic efficiency and mechanical grip.

It’s quite obvious they took lessons from last season’s performance, seeing how concentrating on these areas would help to tackle the long-standing weaknesses of the designs they faced before.

What really set the MCL38 as technically different and better from the previous design was its increased rear grip, as reported by Stella during the pre-season test.

Upgrades that defined the season

The wide range upgrade package introduced in Miami was a catalyst of their performance for the next few rounds. This even helped Norris score his first race win ever.

Their Dutch upgrade further helped the next rounds such as in Azerbaijan, where Norris climbed 13 places to fourth place while Piastri enjoyed another race win.

This was also where the historic moment of McLaren landed first in the Constructors’ standings since 2014.

This continued on to COTA, where they brought their largest upgrade package. They further boosted their performances from the mid-to-final stages of the season.

Overall, the MCL38 was a huge success of a machine. This championship-winning design will definitely be an inspiration for future F1 cars, be it for McLaren or other teams.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri: A dynamic duo

Norris: rising to the challenge

An experienced driver paired with a junior looks like the perfect match. But they each had their own set of challenges needed to overcome throughout the season.

When Lando Norris overtook Charles Leclerc to become the runner-up in the Drivers’ Standings in Spain, there came increasing pressure on the British driver to perform well and secure the Drivers’ Title.

This was coupled with the fact that the points difference was smaller compared to the previous season. This included Red Bull’s gradual downfall in performance. Therefore, many believed that Norris would have a shot for the title.

Seeing the wealth of experience Norris possesses, he was given priority over Piastri to support his chase for the Drivers’ title fight. This was a part of the team’s widely reported formula of team orders. 

However, there were some instances of Norris slightly crumbling under that huge pressure. In the Netherlands and Brazil among a few other races, despite qualifying first, he lost his lead almost immediately.

Luckily, the Abu Dhabi performance signals further progress on this. He stunningly defended his lead very well from his Ferrari rivals, all the way to victory for him and McLaren.

Although sadly not securing his first Drivers title, Norris enjoyed success on four separate occasions this season.

His four Grands Prix wins equalled that of his team’s founder Bruce McLaren. Had he scooped up another podium before the season ended, Norris could’ve also match the New Zealander’s total podiums.

Piastri: A promising second year

On the other hand, Oscar Piastri has adjusted himself well to the competitive requirements of the Papaya team in what was only his second year with them.

He occasionally faced episodes of difficult tyre management, which hindered his performances like in Japan for example. Nonetheless, he had been a brilliant and reliable teammate to Norris.

A second year in Formula One looked more encouraging for Piastri. With two race wins, ten podiums and three fastest laps under his belt, it was certainly a great year for him to look back.

The Hungarian Grand Prix was one of McLaren’s best performances. They qualified one-two, their first since 2012.

Piastri had a better start and pace than Norris and even took the lead from his teammate. Hence, Norris eventually had to give in and allow Piastri to take his first race win.

Regardless of the controversy surrounding the strategy of the duo for this race, they truly excelled themselves here in Hungaroring. They achieved their first 1-2 since 2021.

Setbacks and recovery: The Austrian GP

One of the worst performances for McLaren’s 2024 F1 season was in the Austrian GP. Piastri had to lose his final lap time in qualifying due to violating track limits and qualified seventh as a result. Norris was second.

Norris’ collision with Verstappen in the final laps of the race forced Norris to suffer a tyre puncture and terminal car damage. He had to take up the last place as a result.

Piastri thankfully took home second place for the team, strengthening the team’s position in the Constructors’ standings.

Overall, Norris and Piastri’s talents truly are a valuable asset, which helped to deliver solid performances for McLaren.

Another round of organisational restructuring

Back in April 2024, the Woking-based team had another organizational restructure. David Sanchez, a former Ferrari aerodynamics specialist departed just months on taking into a new role in becoming one of the technical leads in the team.

Andrea Stella and Zak Brown hoped this restructure would help to evolve their 2024 vision of excelling on track. And this vision did come true.

They last experienced the Constructors’ win back in 1998, thanks to Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard. This makes their 2024 Constructors’ title win more than a decades-long worth of wait.

Looking ahead: Building on success

All in all, McLaren’s 2024 F1 season was a thrilling one. Their consistency in performance and teamwork certainly cemented them as a top team once more, after enduring countless title-less seasons.

The Constructors’ title win greatly boosted the team’s confidence to continue to outperform themselves and other teams better heading into the future.

With the team and drivers to remain constant for the next season, they set their eyes on conquering new heights. And that is to take home both Constructors’ and Drivers’ titles.