Ferrari vs McLaren: Can the 2024 Constructors’ Title End in a Historic Draw?

Midway into the 2024 Qatar GP, it looked as though McLaren would leave Lusail as the Constructors’ Champions. However, a fiasco involving Lando Norris speeding under yellow flags which led to a 10-second stop-and-go penalty ultimately took the battle for the title into the season finale next week.

Thanks to Charles Leclerc’s P2, Ferrari is now just 21 points behind McLaren in the standings, setting the stage for an incredible finish to the campaign. Although McLaren has the advantage, the Maranello-based outfit has a great chance of winning its first team title since 2008. At the same time, there’s a chance they will be tied.

There needs to be a very specific result for that to happen. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz need a 1-2 finish along with the fastest lap point to end the evening at the Yas Marina Circuit next Sunday with 44 points. It would take their total to 663 points.

For McLaren to reach that same mark, things would have to go slightly wrong. A P3 finish for either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri, with the other driver in P6, would also take them to the same mark as Ferrari. In that case, there would be no way to separate the teams in the standings. So, how will the Constructors’ Championship be decided?

Will there be a Championship draw?

Both McLaren and Ferrari have the same number of wins this season. Norris has three, and Piastri has two for McLaren. Over at Ferrari, Leclerc has three, with Sainz winning one less.

However, in the unlikely event that they do tie, it would have to come after a Ferrari win in Abu Dhabi, bringing their total to six. In that case, there wouldn’t be much confusion or question about who the winner would be—Ferrari would be crowned Champions of 2024.

McLaren started the Qatar Grand Prix main race on Sunday 30 points ahead of the Italian squad and with Norris and Piastri running in P2 and P3 for so much of the race, it looked all but certain that the champagne would pop open in the Woking-based squad’s garage by the end of the evening.

Unfortunately, Norris’ mistake made him drop down to P10, allowing for Leclerc to finish on the second step of the podium. Now, all eyes would be on the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP to see which of the two teams would end their title drought.