How McLaren can clinch constructors' title, make history in Baku

Last season in Baku, McLaren took the lead in the constructors' standings for the first time since 2014 and never looked back. One year later, McLaren returns to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with a chance to lift the constructors' trophy in record-breaking fashion.

The Woking-based squad enters the race weekend with a 337-point lead on second-place Ferrari. McLaren's magic number to clinch its 10th constructors' championship is 346 points over its closest rival. That's because there's a maximum of 301 constructors' points available in the seven races left after Baku, plus another 45 points from the three remaining sprints.

The easiest way for McLaren to clinch in Baku is to finish 1-2, as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have already done seven times this season. That automatically gets the job done.

If the Papaya duo don't finish first and second, the drivers could secure McLaren's second straight constructors' crown by outscoring Ferrari by nine points while preventing Mercedes from outscoring them by 12 or more points or Red Bull outdoing them by 33 or more points.

Possible scenarios that would spoil McLaren's plans include a Ferrari victory. A win alone (25 points) for the Scuderia makes it impossible for Piastri and Norris to outscore the Italian side by nine points, even if they end up second and third (33 points). A Mercedes 1-2 finish (43 points) also delays the celebration as a third- and fourth-place finish for the McLaren drivers nets just 27 combined points. A successful day for Red Bull would likely also require a catastrophe on McLaren's end to make a significant impact - even a 1-2 finish (43 points) wouldn't be enough so long as Piastri and Norris collect 11 combined points.

But with Ferrari yet to win a race this year, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli in a deep slump, and the Red Bull second seat essentially nonexistent, McLaren can probably look forward to a special championship triumph Sunday.

The icing on the cake for potentially clinching in Baku: McLaren would be the first team to secure the constructors' title with seven or more races remaining. That would break the record Red Bull set in 2023 when the former champs lifted the trophy with six races to go.