McLaren’s journey to the top of Formula 1 was fast. In just a year and a half, they went from struggling in the midfield to fighting for the World Championship.
They have everything needed to succeed: young drivers, a strong technical team, and solid leadership. But they need to be tougher with their decisions.
Both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris still have a chance to win the World Championship. Norris is 62 points behind the leader, while Piastri trails by 106 points. Charles Leclerc, who recently won a race, is ahead of Piastri by 20 points. Ferrari’s car isn’t as versatile as McLaren’s, but McLaren’s best shot at the title is with Norris.
Why McLaren must change tactics now
With eight races and three sprints left in the 2024 season, Norris needs to gain about eight points more than Verstappen each weekend. A DNF (Did Not Finish) for Verstappen could change things drastically, but that’s out of McLaren’s control. The same goes for a potential DNF for Norris. It’s crunch time.
So why isn’t McLaren doing everything possible to give Norris an edge? They seem focused on keeping both drivers happy and aiming for the Constructors’ Championship. That makes sense, but they lost some points in Italy because of this approach.
Imagine if Norris and Piastri had held their positions at the start of the Italian Grand Prix and worked together to keep others behind them. They could have controlled the race from first and second place. Leclerc wouldn’t have gotten between them. With McLaren’s speed in clean air, they could’ve dominated. This strategy would also benefit their standing in the Constructors’ Championship.
But let’s set that aside for a moment. By the last lap, it was clear that even on old tires, Leclerc was too strong for Piastri. So why not swap their positions? McLaren says they aim to win both championships. If so, swapping positions on the last lap would help achieve that without affecting their Constructors’ points since Carlos Sainz wasn’t a threat from behind. It would give Norris an extra two points—a win-win situation.
Fans might wonder why McLaren isn’t being smarter about this.
After the Grand Prix, there seemed to be a realization that both championships were within reach due to Red Bull’s lack of pace. History shows Red Bull might struggle in Baku and Singapore too.
It’s time for McLaren to take bold steps or risk regretting missed opportunities later on. You never know how many chances you’ll get in F1, especially with big rule changes coming in 2026…
What do you think? Should McLaren focus more on one driver or continue balancing both?
