McLaren ends 26 years of pain as tensions bubble away

The last time McLaren won the F1 constructors' title, neither Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri were born, Max Verstappen was a one-year old, Bill Clinton was president of the United States and the internet was still barely a thing. 

When Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard secured the 1998 constructors' title, McLaren's seventh since 1984, you'd have got long odds on it being nearly a quarter of the way through the next century before the Woking squad were F1 champions again. 

Now, it must be said that in 2007, McLaren did score 218 points to Ferrari's 209, but it was disqualified over the spy-gate scandal, handing the Scuderia a 15th title. 

The championship McLaren won caps off a remarkable turnaround for a team which just seven seasons ago was in the F1 doldrums having hit rock-bottom. 

The championship-winning machine

It is all too easy to forget to start in 2024, McLaren only had a single grand prix victory in 12 years - Daniel Ricciardo at the 2021 Italian GP. 

Hopes of starting 2024 as 2023 had ended with the MCL60 proving a rapid machine were dashed as Verstappen steam-rollered the opposition with those seven wins in the first 10 races. 

But one of those defeats came in Miami where Norris finally broke his duck to win his first grand prix, the result coming after another big upgrade package had been applied to the car. 

Now, its one thing to have a fast car, but quite another to know how to use it, and throughout most of the rest of the European season, it was a different matter.

This was a McLaren team not versed in fighting consistently at the front of the field after so long as midfield fodder, occasionally snipping for a podium. But the only way to learn is to do, with in-race management improving after a British GP where Norris and Piastri finished three-four on a day a one-two was easy to achieve after wrong calls on strategy and tyre choice.

From the Hungarian GP to the Singapore GP, the McLaren was the outright fastest machine, evidenced by four of McLaren's six wins coming in this run as Norris threatened to put himself in the title mix, but ultimately Verstappen had one too many tricks for the Briton.

The car was in such a sweet spot with its performance that the team was reluctant to introduce a big upgrade for fear of throwing this delicate balance out of the window especially as the constructors' race against Ferrari narrowed. 

Ferrari was coming on strong in the final six races, but ultimately, Norris's win in Abu Dhabi sealed the title for a McLaren now firmly back. Even as recently as 2018, the idea of McLaren winning the F1 world championship was fanciful.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

Norris and Piastri work well together as a partnership, but there were some flashpoints in 2024, at the Hungarian and Italian GPs.

In Budapest, Piastri sliced up the inside to take P1 at the start, and only due to McLaren needing to cover off Lewis Hamilton later in the race, did Norris stop before Piastri, thus undercutting the Australian.

Then followed a debate with his engineer Will Joseph with Norris reluctant to hand the position back, especially given Verstappen's horror show. A further seven points were on the table for Norris if his radio conveniently broke and ignored the team order. 

But eventually, with three laps to go, he let Piastri through, although things were rather subdued. 

At Monza, with a one-two on the grid, the pair were told 'papaya rules' were in place - something of a fudge that basically meant 'don't hit your team-mate.'

At the start, Piastri simply mugged Norris at the second chicane, but the pair would finish two-three as Charles Leclerc stole the race win.

Ultimately things settled down as Norris asserted his team leader status over the final six races, with Piastri having to work on his qualifying as a matter of urgency ahead of his third season next year. 

But he clipped at Norris's heels enough to just be in the question next year. Of all the team-mate battles of 2025, this is arguably the most intriguing.