McLaren set for 2025 F1 Constructors' title celebration in Baku

The reigning champions have won 12 of 16 races so far this season, including seven McLaren one-two finishes, and return to Baku where current leader Oscar Piastri took victory last year.He leads teamate Lando Norris by 31 points with eight rounds remaining.

A one-two result would clinch a 10th Constructors’ crown for McLaren, their second in succession, but so too would simply outscoring closest rivals Ferrari by nine points, provided Mercedes or Red Bull do not win big.

To put the dominance into perspective, Ferrari have only once this season outscored McLaren, by six points in Canada after Norris and Piastri collided and the Briton retired. In the other 15 races, McLaren have averaged 22 points more than Ferrari, and arrive in Baku with a 337-point lead and 346 still available after Sunday’s race.

Mercedes and Red Bull have also only once beaten McLaren in a points haul, in Canada, by 28 and six points respectively.

Piastri, 31 points clear of Norris, has scored in every race and missed the podium only twice, while Norris has failed to score twice. Ferrari, meanwhile, are still waiting for a first win of the season and for Lewis Hamilton to stand on the podium in red overalls.

The odds point firmly towards a McLaren celebration on Sunday, with the team set to eclipse Red Bull’s 2023 feat of sealing the title with six rounds to go, and to overtake Williams as the second most successful constructor of all time behind Ferrari. That would then free Piastri and Norris to fight for the Drivers’ title without the shadow of team orders.

Ferrari are still expected to be strong in Baku, where Charles Leclerc is chasing a fifth consecutive pole position: “I think we have a couple of tracks where we are supposed to be also in good shape, starting with the next one.

Scuderia boss Fred Vasseur was realistic ahead of Baku: "We are historically always in good shape in Baku, but for sure the goal is to finish P2 in the championship. McLaren is on another planet.”

Red Bull could also be in the mix, with Max Verstappen arriving off a Monza win. The Dutchman had a tougher time in Baku last year, finishing fifth behind Norris who had started 15th.

Mercedes, meanwhile, will want Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli to rebound after what team boss Toto Wolff called an “underwhelming” home race at Monza: “We lost some ground to our competitors in Monza and know we need to perform better in the closing eight races than we did in Italy if we are to come out on top."

Meanwhile, on the other end of the grid Haas driver Oliver Bearman, who substituted for Kevin Magnussen in Baku last year, finds himself at risk of suspension after accumulating 10 penalty points in 12 months. Just two more would trigger an automatic race ban, leaving the Briton needing a faultless weekend.