McLaren has snatched the championship lead from Red Bull, highlighting its consistent rise in the rankings.
Azerbaijan pulled the ultimate twist in the 2024 season’s constructors title decider. McLaren took the lead in the constructors standings by a 20 point margin with Red Bull, thanks to drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris‘ top five finishes.
Singapore is up next, and the British team’s last win in the city-state occurred 15 years ago. Can they finally end their long drought and emerge victorious in the Grand Prix?
Post-Baku championship reflections
Memories of Oscar Piastri standing on top of the podium remain fresh in the minds of motorsport fans. After his second race win in Baku, the constructor’s title is no longer out of reach for McLaren. Piastri’s win alongside Norris’ stellar fourth-place finish led the Woking-based outfit to climb up to the top of the championship standings.
Norris has once again narrowed the gap between himself and driver’s standings leader Max Verstappen. The British is now 59 points behind the Dutchman. Piastri meanwhile sits comfortably in fourth, with approximately 32 points behind his teammate.
With seven races left before the season draws to a close, the battle for the title grows tighter. Tensions among the grid are rising as teams work to eliminate as many flaws as possible gathered from the past races.
If they were to catch up to McLaren, the runners-up Ferrari and Red Bull could not affort to make any more mistakes. As seen in Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez’s collision in the final two laps proved to be a major setback in the championship points for both teams.
McLaren will now head over to Singapore alongside the rest of the field to continue their strive for the title. Now a standings leader, they face the challenge of maintaining their lead, with teams such as Ferrari now on the rise to claim it. Although the streets of Singapore are no easy feat for them to take a race victory.
McLaren has won only once in the city-state, with a then fresh-faced Lewis Hamilton all the way back in 2009. To strengthen their dominance in the championship, the papaya team may have to overcome another obstacle: end their 13-year drought and finally take the win in Marina Bay Circuit.
Hope of a constructors’ title
As the next round comes in the form of another street circuit, coupled with the poor results shown the previous year as Verstappen finished fifth, this posed another unfortunate challenge for Red Bull.
As widely reported, Red Bull’s overall performance has been declining. They have therefore appeared less and less of a threat in recent rounds. Red Bull’s usual conquest of street circuits has been inconspicuous thus far this season. Meanwhile, McLaren and Ferrari scored their race wins in Baku and Monaco respectively.
The change in the constructor standings also escalated the effect of the papaya team glory, quietly threatening among the field. Being a crucial part of the car, Ferrari made more upgrades to its front wing for the upcoming race. It was initially planned to be implemented in Austin, nonetheless it was decided to be fast-tracked a few weeks earlier.
Red Bull even cancelled using its fan-inspired livery at the Singapore Grand Prix. Cited reasons are related to the team’s concerns about the potential effect of its weight on the performance of their cars.
That further fueled the hopes of a championship title for McLaren.
The dream of winning the constructors’ title was once seem far away for the rest of the grid, including McLaren. Finally leading the championship standings after a decade, Piastri and Norris now look forward to adding more trophies to their cabinet.
All of this was owed to the slow yet steady improvement the team made in the second half of the season mixed with major upgrades introduced in Miami, which have proven to be useful since then.
McLaren managed to maintain their consistency throughout the season, therefore producing excellent results from track to track. This is evident as Oscar Piastri being the only driver to complete all the racing laps of the season so far. He is also the only driver to reach Q3 for all races this season.
A Singapore setback or success
Recently, the Marina Bay Circuit has undergone a few modifications, including adding another DRS (Drag Reduction System) zone. This may raise the likelihood for McLaren to achieve greater DRS efficiency and more overtaking opportunities.
Moreover, winning a street circuit such as Baku can provide a huge confidence in McLaren to add to their tally of wins. Particularly in the much humid and tighter Singaporean streets.
Whether McLaren can ace this race, the amount of data analyzed in the previous rounds may indicate positive signs. Higher chances of a papaya win, ending a winless Singaporean streak that lasted more than a decade.
