McLaren leads the constructor's championship for the first time in 10 years as Red Bull finally give up 2nd position

Oscar Piastri's victory and Lando Norris's fourth-place finish have pushed McLaren to the top pedestal in the constructor's championship. It took the British squad a decade to achieve the feat again in Formula 1.

McLaren is one of the most iconic teams in F1 and is the second-oldest team on the current grid behind Ferrari. Founded by Bruce McLaren, the squad made its first entry in 1966. Since then, the Woking-based team has won 186 Grand Prix and has 12 drivers and 8 constructors titles to its name. After partnering with Honda for Power Units in 2015, McLaren began losing its hold as a frontrunner for the championship battle.

However, through consistent development and strategic improvements, the team has made a remarkable comeback in the 2024 season. With consistent wins and podium finishes from both Norris and Piastri since the introduction of a major upgrade package in China, McLaren began closing the gap to the title rival Red Bull Racing.

Now, after Piastri's P1 and Norris's P4 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the British squad is leading the championship with 476 points, while the Austrian team has slipped to second place in the table with 456 points. The last time the team led the table was in 2014, when Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button finished second and third in the season-opening Australian GP.

A congratulatory post was shared on Formula 1's official page on X. Here's a look at the post, captioned,

For the first time in a DECADE... 🤯@McLarenF1 are your Constructors Championship leaders! 🧡

Apparently, it took the team 546 weeks and 220 races to regain the top spot in the constructor's battle.

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A brief look at McLaren's pursuit of Red Bull Racing in the 2024 constructor's championship so far

With a much-evolved MCL38 race car, McLaren began its hunt for the top constructor spot at the start of the 2024 Formula 1 season. Although Red Bull Racing dominated the table in the first few races, the British squad quickly closed the gap.

A crucial upgrade package in China saw the Woking-based team surpass Ferrari for the second spot in the championship. Since then, the team has managed to secure four wins (Miami, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Azerbaijan).

Apart from the victories, McLaren has consistently been on the podium in almost every race, further adding to the points tally. The stable performance as well as two major updates (China and Netherlands) have allowed the Papaya Orange squad to surpass the reigning world champion by a margin of 20 points.

With seven races remaining in the season, McLaren (476 points) will likely be looking to solidify their position ahead of Red Bull Racing (456 points) and Ferrari (425 points).