McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull battle for F1 constructors' championship with two weekends to race
By Michael Doyle
Topic:Formula 1
McLaren leads the constructors' championship but Ferrari and Red Bull are chasing with two weekends left in the season.
In short:
Formula 1's constructors' championship is still up for grabs with two race weekends left in the season.
McLaren leads the championship by 24 points to Ferrari, with Red Bull still an outside chance of winning the title.
What's next?
F1 returns to Qatar this weekend for a sprint race and a grand prix in the penultimate round of the season.
The drivers' championship has been wrapped up for a fourth time by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, but the fight for Formula 1's constructors' crown is poised for a thrilling conclusion.
With two grands prix and one sprint race remaining in the longest season in F1 history, there are still three teams in contention for the world championship.
Red Bull has won the previous two constructors' titles, but they are long shot to win a trio of championships.
Despite Verstappen claiming the drivers' championship, his teammate Sergio Perez has been well off the pace and has struggled scoring points.
The Mexican has managed just eight points from his last six grands prix, leaving Red Bull third, 53 points off the lead, and barely with a chance of completing the championship double.
McLaren has been the star team this season and could be on the verge of winning the constructors' title for the first time since 1998.
Lando Norris and Australian Oscar Piastri have been regular features on the podium this season and have put McLaren in a position hard to fathom considering the team at the start of 2023 appeared closer to the back of the grid.
"Not very long ago, the notion that we would be in contention for the title would have been incredible, unthinkable — but now it's realistic and we have to finish the job," team principal Andrea Stella said following last weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix.
McLaren holds a 24-point lead over Ferrari, who have also been regular podium getters in 2024 with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
A Ferrari has won two of the previous four grands prix and Leclerc and Sainz finished ahead of their McLaren rivals last weekend in Las Vegas.
While Stella has confidence the final two rounds — in Qatar and Abu Dhabi — will be favourable to their car, the competitiveness of this season between McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes, which picked up a 1-2 in Las Vegas, means nothing is certain.
"Qatar and Abu Dhabi should be more suitable ground for the MCL38 but there are four teams in contention for victory all of the time," he said.
"That's great for Formula 1 but it means we have to be performing at our absolute best if we are to win the constructors' championship."
There is a maximum of 103 points a constructor can win in the final two race weekends.
Qatar will hold a grand prix and a sprint race this weekend, before Abu Dhabi's season finale grand prix the following weekend.
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