The 2024 season has been a bizarre one for Red Bull because of the stark contrast in the performance levels of their two drivers. Max Verstappen sealed his fourth consecutive championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with two race weekends to spare. However, for Red Bull, they are already out of the race to win the Constructors’ title this year.
This would make Verstappen the only driver other than Nelson Piquet Sr. to win multiple Drivers’ Championships for a team that did not win the Constructors’ title that year. The first time that Verstappen won the Drivers’ Championship and Red Bull failed to win the Constructors’ title was actually back in 2021, the year the Dutchman won his maiden title.
With Red Bull out of contention, Max Verstappen joins Nelson Piquet Sr. as the only drivers to win multiple drivers’ championships for a team that didn’t win the constructors.
Verstappen – 2021, 2024
Piquet – 1981, 1983I’m sure they will discuss that over Christmas dinner. pic.twitter.com/7MXxK4FUVb
— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) December 1, 2024
During both of Piquet Sr’s first two championship wins with Brabham in 1981 and 1983 respectively, the team failed to win the Constructors’ title. Piquet Sr. won his maiden championship in 1981 by beating Carlos Reutemann by just a point. But Reutemann’s Williams’ team won the Constructors’ title that year.
Two years later, Piquet Sr. beat four-time champion Alain Prost for his second title in 1983 by two points. That season, Ferrari won the Constructors’ title despite their drivers finishing only third and fourth in the championship respectively.
While the Drivers’ title has been sealed this year, the Constructors’ Championship fight will go down to the wire in Abu Dhabi.
What do both McLaren and Ferrari need to win the 2024 Constructors’ title?
McLaren have a 21-point lead heading into the season finale from second-placed Ferrari. With there going to be a maximum of 44 points up for grabs in Abu Dhabi, McLaren need to score 24 points to win the title.
Then, even if Ferrari were to grab maximum points, they will not be able to beat the Woking-based outfit to their first title since 1998. As for Ferrari, even a perfect weekend will not guarantee them the championship win. They will need at least one of the two McLaren drivers to finish fifth or below.
Nevertheless, the Scuderia have kept themselves in contention by outscoring McLaren in the Grand Prix in Qatar by nine points. That nullified the points advantage the Woking outfit gained during the sprint race. Ferrari gained three points overall from the Qatar GP weekend, which was going to be a bad track for them.
