McLaren On Top Of Constructors Standings As Formula 1 Goes To Singapore

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix proved to be iconic for several reasons as McLaren driver Oscar Piastri ended up winning the race. This was a monumental result for McLaren as it gave them a lead in the Constructors Championship ahead of Red Bull who have been on the top since the start of the season. This marked an end to the dominance of Red Bull who have ruled over Formula 1 over the past couple of seasons. Max Verstappen had a disappointing race as he only managed to finish in 5th just behind his championship competitor Lando Norris. 

The Formula One circus now moves to Singapore and McLaren is the new leader. 

McLaren Might Just Get The Job Done 

McLaren Racing heads into Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix as Formula 1’s hot new darlings, the papaya-drenched team that just may be the ones to finally dethrone Red Bull and Max Verstappen.

Red Bull and its Dutch driver have had ironclad grips on both the drivers championship, and, the more lucrative constructors title for best car, since Verstappen won his first title in 2021. Verstappen now has three consecutive titles and leads the driver standings; Red Bull has back-to-back constructors titles but, headed into the weekend, no longer leads the standings.

McLaren took the top spot with Oscar Piastri’s win last Sunday. Coupled with Lando Norris’ fourth-place finish, McLaren is now the constructors leader for the first time since 2014. McLaren last won the constructors championship in 1998.

McLaren starts the weekend in Singapore with a 20-point lead over Red Bull, which had led the carmaker competition since 2022. 

Read More: F1 legend Mika Hakkinen opens karting track in Chennai

“I think we’ve got as good a shot as anyone,” Zak Brown, the chief executive of McLaren, boldly declared Sunday at IndyCar’s season-ending race.

He’d watched Piastri win and McLaren move to the top from Nashville, Tennessee, and even with the big-talking American half a world away, McLaren still managed to make tongues wag at the the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

McLaren's Pick For Number 1 Driver 

McLaren arrived in Baku and admitted it would prioritize Norris and the driver championship over Piastri for the final eight races of this season. Norris trails Verstappen by 59 points in the standings, and Piastri certainly accepted the team order in stride by winning the race. 

Read More: McLaren boss Zak Brown revels in 'best season'

“Obviously no racing driver wants to compromise their own race, so of course he doesn’t love it, but he’s a great team player, totally understands, also knows the role could be reversed in the future,” Brown said of Piastri being given the wingman role for the remainder of the season.

“Also, not totally out of the question, it can be reversed later this year. If Lando goes out and has a couple of DNFs, Oscar goes out and wins a couple of races — all of a sudden,” Brown shrugged. “So I think (Piastri) recognizes that what goes around comes around, and it can very much come around his way.”

Norris and Piastri have combined to win two of the last three F1 races for McLaren, while Verstappen hasn’t won since the Spanish Grand Prix on June 23. While the team has said it wants Norris to dethrone Verstappen, Brown knows it is a longshot unless Norris can start sledgehammering-away large chunks of Verstappen’s lead every race.

(With AP Inputs)