
“It makes the story cooler” – Lando and Oscar on the Championship fight
Our drivers discuss what McLaren need to do to win the 2024 Constructors’ Championship
Read time: 7.7 minutes
The ebbs and flows of the last two decades at McLaren is what makes our 2024 title challenge such a compelling story, says Lando, as he and Oscar prepare for this weekend’s crunch finale.
Our well-documented revival over the past 24 months has culminated in our team being on the cusp of making history. This weekend in Abu Dhabi, we have the potential to end a 26-year Constructors’ Championship drought.
We head into the final race of the year with a 21-point advantage over second place, with 44 points still to be won. We need 24 points to guarantee the Constructors’ Championship, or 23 if Ferrari finish second or lower.
Lando also enters the weekend in a fight of his own in the Drivers’ standings, with the British racer sitting second, eight points ahead of third. Speaking to the media in the lead up to the weekend, he asserted that the Constructors’ Championship is his priority and reiterated the challenge that faces our team.

“Everything in life is easier said than done, but of course, the Constructors’ battle is number one,” Lando said. “For me, the focus is the Constructors’, and by doing that, I hope to still finish second in the Drivers’.
“My focus is solely on delivering for the team this weekend. Obviously, the more I can deliver for the team, the better the outcome will be for me as a driver, but that’s not how I think. I am confident. The car was great last weekend, especially on Sunday in the race.”
Lando is in his sixth year with the team in Formula 1 and has already secured what will be his highest placing in the Drivers’ standings to date, with his previous best being two sixth-place finishes.
This season is also set to mark McLaren’s highest finish in the standings for more than a decade, with the team last betting third in 2011, when Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button were driving for the team.
“It has been amazing,” Lando continued, discussing the team’s revival. “Compared to the teams we’re racing against, whether it is Red Bull, Ferrari, or Mercedes, none of them have been through the pain we’ve been through these last six years, so I think it will mean more to us than anyone else.
The season finale Abu Dhabi
“Of course, it always means a lot to everyone, that is obvious, but we’ve had to come from a lot lower down than where they have. That is our fault and our own doing, of not being good enough back then, but it makes the story cooler than if we had been at the front the whole time and won again.
“It is a pleasure to be a part of, but there is a lot more work that needs to be done. It would mean a lot to me, but it would mean more to the whole team, and if they’re happy, then I am happy. I am proud of the whole season, I am happy.”
Key to our Constructors’ Championship fight has been Oscar’s instant success in Formula 1, with the Australian adapting to the step up from Formula 2 quicker than could have been expected, before translating his roaring rookie success into an even stronger sophomore season.
Fighting at the front, our drivers have pushed each other all season long, earning five wins and 20 podiums - our fourth-highest tally - between them, including a run of 14 top-three finishes in a row between China and Singapore.
“Still confident,” Oscar said in the pre-weekend press conference, when asked for his thoughts on the Constructors’ Championship fight. “We’re still in a good spot in terms of the lead we have.
“It is a pleasure to be a part of, but there is a lot more work that needs to be done”

Lando Norris
McLaren Formula 1 Driver
“We're going to focus on ourselves and try and get the most out of our game, our car that we have”

Oscar Piastri
McLaren Formula 1 Driver
“I think it's going to be a very tightly fought weekend between probably the top four teams, not just us and Ferrari, which means that some of the other teams can potentially play a role in deciding the Championship. So let's see.
“We're going to focus on ourselves and try and get the most out of our game, our car that we have, and I guess see where we end up. But I think we're in a good spot and still confident.”
Oscar is the only driver to have completed every lap of the season so far. In only his second season of F1, he sits fourth in the drivers' standings, with a 19-point lead on fifth.
Asked for his thoughts on his second season, Oscar said: “I think this year has been a good improvement from my rookie season, but still room to go. I think a few races at the start of the season and a few races more recently have not gone as well as I would have liked. And I also think that, as a team, there are some races through the year that we would have liked to have executed a bit better.

“But I think, especially in the middle part of the year, I was very happy with the level I was performing at, and I think I showed some pretty clear progress from last season. I think mainly in Qualifying, I've made life too difficult for myself this year. But I think last year, in a lot of the races, I wouldn't have had the tools to get back through. Whereas this year, I feel like I have. So I think, on a personal note, it's been a good improvement. But yeah, still some room to go.”
Asked the same question of his own performances this year, Lando replied: “On the whole, I have been proud of my performances, they’ve been far greater than they were last year, and that is all I need to do every season. There is a lot more to it than just driving a car quickly, especially when I am racing against Max [Verstappen].
“The opportunities were there. I feel like I have improved on a lot, and I am ready to fight, which is good preparation for next year. Proud is probably the main thing, of myself and the whole team.”
You can follow every second of the action this weekend live on the McLaren App, with access to team radio and commentary.
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