GrandPrix247 Car of the Year: The McLaren MCL38

When the season started, the teams were launching their cars; the early consensus was that Red Bull Racing had another winner and that Max Verstappen would walk away with a fourth title.

And after winning seven of the first ten races, it seemed that all our fears weren't for nothing. The chances of having a title fight were slim.

But the McLaren delivered that major upgrade for the Miami Grand Prix, and Lando Norris took his maiden F1 win, and while Verstappen won in Imola, Canada, and Spain, those victories were not easy as it was clear he was working hard at the wheel of his RB20 to achieve them while McLaren missed some opportunities on the way.

But then the Dutchman went on a dry spell, not winning until that great drive in Sao Paulo in the rain, and while during that time, McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari were all fighting for wins, the Papaya car was the consistently best all-rounder.

In the end, the improvement of the MCL38 was a bit too late for Norris to fight for the F1 drivers' championship, but McLaren—with Sergio Perez struggling to score points for Red Bull—managed to clinch their first constructors' title since 1998.

McLaren managed to keep their car above the competition, which was a sign that they knew what they were doing with its development, unlike Red Bull, who lost their way, or Ferrari, who brought an upgrade to their SF-24 in Spain, which made it bounce and was not sorted out until they raced in Monza with Charles Leclerc winning.

In the end, the 2024 F1 season signaled the return of McLaren to the top, and they can thank their MCL38 for that and the team of engineers who designed it naturally.

And as a conclusion, the McLaren MCL38 is GrandPrix247's 2024 Car of the Year.