Can McLaren Clinch Constructors’ Title In Baku?

F1 Grand Prix Of Netherlands
ZANDVOORT, NETHERLANDS - AUGUST 31: Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes leads Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Netherlands at Circuit Zandvoort on August 31, 2025 in Zandvoort, Netherlands. (Photo by Joe Portlock/Getty Images)
F1 Grand Prix Of Netherlands
ZANDVOORT, NETHERLANDS - AUGUST 31: Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes leads Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Netherlands at Circuit Zandvoort on August 31, 2025 in Zandvoort, Netherlands. (Photo by Joe Portlock/Getty Images)

McLaren’s 2025 Formula 1 season is rapidly becoming one of the most dominant in the team’s history, with the Constructors’ Championship close to being sealed long before last year’s tense finale in Abu Dhabi.

After ending a 26-year drought with the title in 2024, McLaren is now on course to retain the crown in record time. The earliest it could mathematically secure the championship is at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 21, the 16th round of the season.

Following this weekend’s race in Baku, there will be 346 points left available across the final eight races. McLaren currently holds a 337-point advantage over Ferrari. With more wins already on the board, a tie-break is no longer relevant. A 346-point lead over second place would be enough to guarantee the title.

Mercedes and Red Bull remain in contention for second, which means McLaren will confirm the championship in Azerbaijan if it:

  • Outscores Ferrari by nine points or more
  • And is not outscored by Mercedes by 12 points or more
  • And is not outscored by Red Bull by 33 points or more

It is a realistic scenario given McLaren’s performance this year. The only event so far where the team failed to satisfy all three conditions was the Canadian Grand Prix, when Mercedes finished first and third while Ferrari also outscored McLaren.

The statistics underline the scale of its dominance. Across the first 15 races of 2025, McLaren has recorded 12 wins and seven one-two finishes. The team sits on 617 points, with Ferrari second on 280.

The current benchmark for the earliest Constructors’ Championship win came in 2023, when Red Bull wrapped up the title with six rounds remaining.

McLaren’s most recent title, its ninth overall, came in 2024 at the final race of the season, when Lando Norris’s victory sealed a 14-point margin over Ferrari.

This time, there is little sign of such a dramatic finale. Drivers Oscar Piastri and Norris have set a relentless pace, with Piastri currently leading the championship by 31 points over his teammate heading into the closing stretch.

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