Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri gave McLaren the title of Constructors' World Champion, a title which was last won by the Woking team in 1998.
The year 1998 remains engraved in the history of McLaren as an exceptional season. Under the leadership of Ron Dennis, the team had dominated the season thanks to the legendary MP4/13, designed by Adrian Newey. Driven by Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard, the car had won no less than nine victories. Since then, the constructors' title had always eluded McLaren, even if the British firm had seen one of its drivers win the drivers' title in 2008 (Lewis Hamilton).
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In recent years, McLaren has gone through a difficult period, marked by disappointing performances. Ten years ago, this lack of results led to a change in management, with the arrival of Zak Brown as CEO. This new CEO has initiated an ambitious reconstruction project.
This long-term work allowed McLaren to return to victory in 2021, before taking the highest place in the constructors' standings this year ahead of its long-time rival, Scuderia Ferrari.
Speaking in Abu Dhabi for PlanetF1.com, Mika Häkkinen welcomed his former team's return to the top
“I think anyone who works hard, makes the right decisions and plays well as a team, that's what matters”, he said. “People need to get something for their hard work.”
“We worked hard. The management made the right decisions and the mechanics did a fantastic job. Today, McLaren is doing this kind of work.”
“The kind of work McLaren is doing right now will make them stronger and they will feel even better about McLaren’s success”, concluded the former F1 driver.
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