Since 2010, no team in F1 other than Red Bull or Mercedes has won the Constructors’ Championship. However, that is all set to change tomorrow with McLaren and Ferrari locked in a battle for the crown.
Both are historic, Championship-starved outfits fielding amazing driver pairings. But Lando Norris, who won three races for the Woking-based squad in 2024, feels that McLaren winning would be sweeter.
“Whether it’s Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, none of them have been through the pain that we have in the last six years,” Norris said on the F1: Chequered Flag podcast.
The 25-year-old referred to McLaren’s recent struggles, which saw them become a backmarker team with the introduction of the turbo-hybrid era in 2014. Zak Brown’s arrival in 2017 began to turn things around. Then, in 2022, Andre Stella taking charge of the technical side of things gave McLaren that extra push to return to the top. After two years of flirting with the podium places, Norris and Co. finally started competing for the Championship in 2024.
McLaren looked like the favorite to win the title for much of the year’s second half. But Ferrari’s late-season resurgence has got the Maranello-based outfit to within 21 points heading into the season finale.
The stage was set for a fun and exciting battle at the Yas Marina Circuit. However, events from Friday have effectively handed McLaren the title.
Charles Leclerc’s SF-24 battery gives McLaren huge boost
On Friday, Ferrari announced that they had decided to swap Leclerc’s battery pack ahead of the Grand Prix. Issues on his car, the SF24, were isolated during Friday practice, and Leclerc had to agree to take a 10-place grid penalty.
This means that Leclerc will have to mount a massive recovery drive during the race tomorrow to ensure they outscore the McLaren duo of Norris and Oscar Piastri. Although they have looked quicker than the papaya team in some of the recent races, this might just turn out to be a tall order for the Scuderia.
BREAKING: Charles Leclerc has been handed a 10-place grid penalty for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after exceeding the battery allocation#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/a4Yr2sMFmA
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 6, 2024
With Qualifying up today, things could still take a turn for the better for Ferrari. Carlos Sainz will also be eager to make his last race for Ferrari one to remember and will be gunning for pole position ahead of the McLaren drivers at the Yas Marina Circuit. It could prove to be crucial for the Championship.
