Twenty-six years. That is how long McLaren fans had to wait. If you were around in 1998, you probably remember Mika Häkkinen flying through the corners in that silver and black MP4/13. Since then? A whole lot of "almost" and "next year is our year." But the 2024 F1 constructors standings finally told a different story. McLaren is back on top with 666 points. It’s a number that looks a bit diabolical, honestly, but for the team in Woking, it’s pure heaven.
They didn't just win; they survived a late-season surge from Ferrari that had everyone biting their nails in Abu Dhabi.
At the start of the year, nobody—and I mean nobody—expected this. Red Bull looked like they were going to sleepwalk to another title. Max Verstappen won seven of the first ten races. It was boringly predictable. Then, the RB20 started acting up. The "diva" tendencies returned. While Max was busy wrestling his car to stay on the podium, McLaren was quietly (and then very loudly) turning the MCL38 into a rocket ship.
The Final Order: A Tale of Two Halves
By the time the dust settled at Yas Marina, the top of the table looked like a reshuffled deck of cards.
McLaren (666 pts) Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were the most consistent pairing on the grid. Lando finally got that monkey off his back in Miami, and Oscar showed he’s basically a veteran in a sophomore’s body with wins in Hungary and Azerbaijan. They weren't always perfect—team orders in Hungary were a mess—but they were fast everywhere.
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Ferrari (652 pts) The Scuderia ended up just 14 points short. Think about that. One bad weekend. One DNF. That’s all it took. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz drove the wheels off the SF-24, especially in the triple-header in the Americas. They actually outscored everyone in the final third of the season, but they just ran out of road.
Red Bull Racing (589 pts) This is the one that’ll hurt Christian Horner for a long time. They finished third. Third! To have the Drivers' Champion and still lose the Constructors' title is rare—it’s only happened a handful of times in F1 history. Max did his part with 437 points, but Sergio Pérez struggled. Checo’s 152 points just weren't enough to fend off two-car attacks from McLaren and Ferrari.
Mercedes (468 pts) A weird year for the Silver Arrows. Lewis Hamilton got his emotional win at Silverstone, and George Russell was quick but often unlucky. They were in "no man's land"—too fast for the midfield, too slow for the title fight.
Why the 2024 F1 Constructors Standings Swung So Hard
It basically comes down to development. Usually, the team that starts fastest stays fastest. Not in 2024. McLaren brought an upgrade to Miami that changed everything. Suddenly, the car could handle low-speed corners without sacrificing its high-speed edge.
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Meanwhile, Red Bull hit a ceiling.
Adrian Newey’s departure announcement felt like the start of a slow-motion car crash. The balance of the RB20 shifted. It became "snappy." If you watched the onboard footage from the middle of the season, you could see Max fighting the steering wheel in every corner.
Ferrari’s late-season surge was equally fascinating. They found a way to make their tires last longer than a typical Italian lunch. Wins in Monza, Austin, and Mexico City put them within striking distance of the lead. Honestly, if the season was 25 races long, we might be talking about a Ferrari championship right now.
The Midfield Scramble and the Alpine Miracle
Further down the 2024 F1 constructors standings, things got weirdly lucrative. The gap between 6th and 9th place represents millions of dollars in prize money.
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- Aston Martin (94 pts): A disappointing 5th. Fernando Alonso can only carry a car so far.
- Alpine (65 pts): The shock of the year. They were a joke at the season opener. Then came the double podium in Brazil’s rain. That single afternoon in Interlagos jumped them from the bottom of the pile to a solid 6th place.
- Haas (58 pts): Nico Hülkenberg was a qualifying machine. They stayed in the hunt for 6th until the very end but just missed out.
- RB (46 pts): A season of transition. Daniel Ricciardo left mid-season, Liam Lawson came in and looked sharp, but the car was inconsistent.
- Williams (17 pts): Franco Colapinto brought some excitement, but 9th was the best they could do.
- Sauber (4 pts): A miserable year. They were the only team that looked like they were stuck in 2023.
What We Learned from the Results
The biggest takeaway? You can't win a title with one driver. Red Bull proved that. You need two guys regularly banking 10 to 15 points every single Sunday. McLaren had that. Even when Lando had a bad day, Oscar was there to pick up the pieces.
Also, the "cost cap" is actually working. We had seven different race winners in 2024. That’s insane. The days of one team winning every race by 30 seconds are, hopefully, over for a while.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re looking to get ahead of the 2025 season, keep an eye on the technical changes. Most teams are shifting resources to the 2026 engine regulations, meaning the cars we saw in Abu Dhabi are very close to what we’ll see at the start of next year.
Actionable Insights:
- Watch the Wind Tunnel Time: Because McLaren won the title, they get the least amount of aerodynamic testing time for the first half of 2025. Red Bull and Ferrari get more. This is the handicap system designed to close the gap.
- Track the Driver Moves: Lewis Hamilton moving to Ferrari in 2025 is going to completely shift the dynamic of the Scuderia. How will Leclerc handle a seven-time champ in the garage?
- Monitor the "B-Teams": Watch if Haas and RB continue to close the gap on Aston Martin. The "Class B" championship is getting tighter every year.
The 2024 season was a reminder that in F1, momentum is everything. McLaren found it, Red Bull lost it, and Ferrari almost stole it. It sets up a 2025 season that could be the most competitive year in the history of the sport.