Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have driven McLaren to the verge of the earliest F1 constructors’ title win in history, while another Red Bull record is also in their sights
Andrea Stella knows McLaren must be close to perfect if they are to break Red Bull’s “remarkable” Formula 1 points record. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have won 12 of 16 Grands Prix held so far this year and look likely to seal the constructors’ title in Baku.
Their lead over second-placed Ferrari stands at 337 points and out-scoring the Scuderia by just nine on Sunday will get the job done – as long as Mercedes don’t score 12 points more than them. Attention will then turn to the all-time points record, held by Red Bull who managed 860 during their remarkable 2023 campaign.
McLaren have 617 on the board and, with 389 more available this year, could eclipse their rivals’ feat. “The record that they set as a benchmark is just incredible, remarkable,” said team principal Stella on Friday.
“For us, it is a reference but it is not what we think about. What we think about is one race at a time, like we saw at Monza, things that can not be taken for granted. Red Bull was faster than us in qualifying and in the race. In Zandvoort, we had the DNF on Lando’s car. Before we think about the final destination, we have to make sure we maximise at every single stage.”
McLaren’s impending success will be their first back-to-back teams’ titles since 1998 and ’99, when David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen were the drivers. Norris and Piastri have dominated the current campaign, after pipping Ferrari to the post at the final race in Abu Dhabi last year.
Stella said: “The feelings are different to last year. Last year, the championship came as a surprise – much earlier than expected in terms of the trajectory of the team. Only in Miami could we take the first victory and, actually, it was here in Baku that we took the lead in the championship.
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“At the end, it was a great surprise and joy. This year, we realised relatively soon that the car was very competitive and that we were in condition to win races, so it was more about keeping concentration and focus, and maximising the potential available.
“Also this year, we have one more dimension which is the fact that we have the drivers in contention for the drivers’ championship.” Asked what aspect of their approach has improved the most over the last 12 months, Stella added: “In Formula 1 we try to improve in every possible area of going racing, but if I had to pick one then it’s from a technical point of view.
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“The car is just a much better car, very innovative compared to last year. We decided to go for development in pretty much every single part of the car. For me, that’s where the biggest step forwards has happened. The race team and the drivers themselves, we have all developed.”
Stella was speaking after first practice in Baku which was, predictably, dominated by his team. Norris and Piastri were first and second respectively on the timesheets, the Brit more than half-a-second clear of Charles Leclerc who was third quickest.
