In just one corner at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Lando Norris looked to have blown his shot at winning a first ever Formula 1 world championship, despite there being another five races between now and the coronation in Abu Dhabi.
Max Verstappen is by no means driving with the confidence he has shown across the last three years – far from it – but he is one of the best at positioning his car and causing chaos to others. It is a problem Norris has failed to solve on numerous wheel-to-wheel racing occasions this year.
It looked as if Norris, his teammate Oscar Piastri and their wider McLaren team were closing the gap to Red Bull’s star man.
But such are the fine margins in Formula 1, small steps can be worth as much as major leaps.
You have to go back to 2009 to find a team winning the Constructors’ Championship that wasn’t either Red Bull or Mercedes.
The historic dominance enjoyed by those two teams was mirrored by Ferrari earlier in the decade – albeit Renault claimed titles in 2005 and 2006.
Dominant Red Bull?
Christian Horner’s Red Bull outfit looked like the clear favourites to pick up another Constructors’ Championship – and a bumper pay cheque – this year.
Every boss says this is the most important title to win each year because it helps to secure the team a budget to use going into the winter. They’re right.
So, then, how on earth have Red Bull and Mercedes given up such a stranglehold on this particular championship? And how have McLaren capitalised?
Well a lot of it, the Papaya team principal Zak Brown has stressed over the years, is the introduction of the budget cap, which has lessened the financial gap between teams across the grid.
That, combined with McLaren sacrificing the back end of last season in favour of starting work on their 2024 campaign, has resulted in a competitive car.
Last year’s prize pot saw an estimated £106m handed out to Red Bull for winning the title, with £99m and £93m going to second and third. That decreases to less than £50m for coming 10th out of the 10 teams.
PositionTeamPointsDifference to 1st1McLaren54402Red Bull504403Ferrari496484Mercedes344200
McLaren on a roll
McLaren’s potential team title wouldn’t only upset the apple cart but would also give them a major advantage over their rivals in terms of momentum, given what they’ve been able to achieve with less cash this season.
Seeing Norris round the final bend of the Yas Marina Circuit in the United Arab Emirates in December to claim the solo world title would be unbelievable at this point, if not quite impossible.
The team, then, needs to be realistic and target the Constructors’ Championship, something they actually have control over.
Expect the Woking-based outfit to shift focus once again towards team results in order to secure the team honours, starting in Mexico this week. Because achieving such a feat would be to write a new chapter in over 15 years of Formula 1 history.