McLaren’s resurgence puts title within reach in Qatar

It was here at the Lusail International Circuit last year that Max Verstappen wrapped up his third successive World Championship title by winning the Sprint race. This time, the Red Bull driver has gone one race better, securing his fourth title in Las Vegas with two Grand Prix still to go in the season.However, there remains one championship battle still alive. The Qatar Grand Prix, which begins today, will serve as a crucial indicator of who might claim the Constructors’ title heading into the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.Despite Verstappen’s dominance this season, reigning world champions Red Bull are rank outsiders for the team title this year. A resurgent McLaren lead the table with 608 points — 24 clear of Ferrari, with Red Bull a further 53 behind.The form of Sergio Perez has been Red Bull’s undoing this year. The Mexican has had a dreadful season compared to his teammate Verstappen. Perez is eighth in the driver’s standings — a mammoth 251 points adrift of his teammate.He has scored just nine points in the last six Grands Prix weekends, while Verstappen managed more than that tally alone in Las Vegas. These stats do little to inspire confidence in the Red Bull garage, with Team Principal Christian Horner admitting on Thursday, "We have a mountain to climb. But we’ll never give up. Max (Verstappen) has obviously been brilliant so far this year. We need Checo (Sergio Perez) to get on the scoreboard a little more in these next couple of races to have any chance,” said Horner.This leaves McLaren and Ferrari as the frontrunners with the chance to end respective long waits for the title. Ferrari last won the Constructors’ Championship in 2008, while McLaren’s last came a decade earlier, in 1998. After falling behind in the drivers’ title fight in Las Vegas, Lando Norris and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri will be hoping to end the season on a high with a team title. But they face a formidable challenge from Ferrari’s duo, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.The Lusail International Circuit’s medium and high-speed long-radius corners, linked with long flat-out stretches, should, in theory at least, suit McLaren. Last year, Piastri took his first F1 pole position and went on to win the Sprint. The Australian and Norris also showed their pace in the corners, finishing second and third respectively behind Verstappen in the main race.McLaren will hope to edge closer to winning their first Constructors’ Championship in 26 years — perhaps with some help from Mercedes, who pulled off a rare one-two in Las Vegas, where George Russell won ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. While Piastri and Norris admitted they were strong in Qatar last year, they do not believe they will be the ones to beat again this year. "Last year we were incredibly quick in all the high-speed corners,” said Piastri. "This year, we’re still quick, but it’s not as clear-cut as it was last year, probably.”At the start of the 2023 season, it seemed almost impossible to imagine any team — least of all McLaren — challenging Red Bull for the title before the next major regulation changes in 2026. Struggles in preseason testing set the tone as both Norris and Piastri failed to score points in the opening two races, with the car far off the pace of Red Bull, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mercedes.Norris reflected on the challenges and his long-term commitment to the team: "I’ve been part of McLaren for eight years now, six years in Formula 1. There have been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of great moments, and some tough ones too,” he said. "I think for me, [the Constructors’ title is] worth more. Some people have come into Formula 1 and won in their first year—there’s not as much of a story. For me, there’s been a lot more that’s gone into it, a lot more chapters in my story, and I think that makes everything feel a little bit more special,” the Brit added.Leclerc and Sainz, meanwhile, feel it will be a tricky weekend — but they retain hope that they can end a 16-year wait for a world title for Ferrari. "It’s going to be until the very end,” said Leclerc. "McLaren are going to be very strong in Qatar, so we’ve got to have a good weekend. I would be very surprised if we recover points from them, but we’ve got to, so we’ll do our best.”Sainz added: "Over the last few weekends, we’ve done a good job. [In Qatar] the maximum might be a P5 or P6. I expect to struggle and I expect McLaren and Mercedes to be very strong, probably also even Red Bull, given that they were strong in qualifying in Austin.”McLaren can wrap things up this weekend in Qatar if they outscore Ferrari by 21 points (or 20 if they win the race, as they could not be beaten on countback results if it’s a tie) and do not lose more than 14 points to Red Bull.