Jenson Button Hails McLaren’s Team Play: “Takes Me Back to 1998!”

After experiencing the disappointment of seeing Max Verstappen win the World Championship in Las Vegas, McLaren has found respite in Qatar thanks to a 1-2 in the Sprint. The way both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri controlled the race allowed for a surprising swapping of positions, which showed great teamwork — something Jenson Button loved seeing.

Norris let Piastri by on the 19th and final lap, allowing the Aussie to win the race even though it was he who controlled the race from the get-go. Looking at the same, Button couldn’t help but remember the 1998 season, which was the last time McLaren won the Constructors’ Championship. Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard were driving for the British team that year, and their teamwork was what guided them to glory.

“That was an unbelievably well-controlled race by McLaren there,” the 2009 World Champion said. “Both drivers on it today and they obviously knew that was the plan before the Sprint to give Oscar the win.”

“It is a team sport and that’s what it’s all about now,” Button added.

Things you love to see! #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/491SohSSoC

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) November 30, 2024

With the Drivers’ championship out of sight, Norris and McLaren’s focus was on solidifying their lead in the Constructors’. And together with Piastri, Norris managed that perfectly, taking the Woking-based squad’s lead from 24 points to 30 ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Talking about why he let Piastri pass, Norris said, “It was probably a bit closer than what I was wanting, but I planned to do it since Brazil. “The team told me not to do it but I thought I could get away with it, and we did.” 

Perhaps, it was Norris’ way of paying Piastri back for the positions he sacrificed to help him in his pursuit of Verstappen’s crown. In the Grand Prix now, Norris and McLaren would be hoping for a similar one-two result.

That, along with the extra point for the fastest lap of the race would seal the title for the papaya team. It would be a huge win for them, and would officially mark their return to the top of the sport for the first time in over two decades.