McLaren could seal back-to-back F1 constructors’ titles at Singapore Grand Prix

SINGAPORE – Less than a year ago, McLaren ended a 26-year wait for the Formula One constructors’ championship in dramatic fashion, clinching it at the Abu Dhabi finale as Lando Norris’ victory saw them edge out Ferrari to the title by 14 points.

Now, the Woking-based outfit find themselves on the cusp of a 10th constructors’ championship with seven rounds to go and retaining the title seems inevitable.

The numbers alone underline the scale of the team’s dominance, with 12 wins from 17 races – seven of which were 1-2 finishes – seeing them build a commanding 623-point total, 333 points over nearest rivals Mercedes.

Under the floodlights at the Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, McLaren can secure back-to-back titles if just one of several scenarios plays out at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Oct 5: Attaining a single podium finish, or if both Mercedes fail to outscore them by 31 points and Ferrari do not gain 35 points on them.

Should they achieve the feat, it would be their first successful constructors’ title defence since Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Gerhard Berger powered them to four consecutive crowns between 1988 and 1991.

Even for McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, their supremacy this season was unexpected. The Italian said at the Hungarian Grand Prix in August that he was surprised by their level of competitiveness.

Norris believes the car has been key to McLaren’s strong showing, with the Briton and his teammate Oscar Piastri also locked in a fierce battle for the drivers’ championship.

Both drivers are on the hunt for their first title, with Australian Piastri, 24, leading the drivers’ standings with 324 points after seven victories, while Norris, who has five victories, is 25 points adrift.

When asked at a press conference on Oct 2 about the secret behind McLaren’s form, defending Singapore GP champion Norris said: “I think you got the two things. You obviously need the best car.

“We’ve had that for 95 per cent of the races... But as a constructor, that’s the important thing.”

The 25-year-old highlighted the pair’s consistency as another factor.

Norris, who has nine career F1 wins, added: “We’ve got two good drivers. There are plenty of other teams with two great drivers, but I kind of hate saying it, but (there’s) not one who has delivered every weekend as often as what Oscar and I have done.

“As a constructor, you need two drivers who deliver every weekend, who finish most races, and that’s what we’ve been able to do.”

A fortnight ago in Baku, they stood a chance of sealing the deal, but endured an uncharacteristically poor weekend as Piastri retired after crashing out in the opening lap, while Norris finished seventh.

Winning in Singapore would see them match the record for the fastest coronation set by Red Bull in 2023, when they claimed their sixth constructors’ championship with six races to spare.

That McLaren find themselves here is remarkable in itself.

At the start of 2023, they were searching for answers, as they sat ninth in the standings after the opening two races of the season.

But changes in their technical department and a mid-season upgrade reignited their competitiveness and laid the foundation for what followed.

Their resurgence, however, has not just been about their drivers.

Formula One commentator David Croft sees it as a product of stability provided by the team behind the scenes, with the partnership between chief executive Zak Brown and team principal Stella at the heart of it.

Having been McLaren Technology Group’s executive director since 2016, Brown took on the role at a turbulent time for the team, who were ninth in 2017.

Reflecting on that period in an interview with Bloomberg, Brown said: “Our corporate partnerships were at a record low. Our morale was at a record low. Our fans were pretty upset with us. It was not a good environment, but I saw that all as opportunity, that it could kind of only go one way.”

Croft said: “Their partnership works brilliantly too, because Zak is out there, front and centre, and that allows Andrea to be the engineer that he wants to be.”

Since then, they have built a team that have lifted McLaren’s performances. Croft believes the arrival of chief designer Rob Marshall from Red Bull has brought out the best in Peter Prodromou, the technical director in aerodynamics.

While they have been the ones to beat these past two seasons, it remains to be seen how the 2026 regulation changes will affect the grid.

Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen said: “It’s a massive unknown for everyone. We don’t know where we’re at, but for a lot of people, it’s a new opportunity to see how good you start a season like that, so we just have to wait and see.

“It’s going to be very different, and you’ll probably see some surprises.”