Opportunities don’t arrive at your door every day. 

In the 17th century Isaac Newton was curiously afforded the opportunity to discover gravity. He took it. In 1983 Lt. Colonel Stanislav Petrov was curiously afforded the opportunity to save the world. He took it. In 2021 Max Verstappen was curiously afforded the opportunity to win the world championship. He took it. 

A McLaren driver has not won the championship since Lewis Hamilton in 2008. A McLaren driver has not even threatened the top of the standings since Jenson Button in 2011. There is an opportunity for that to change.

McLaren may well view a constructors’ title as a success. Indeed, they have not topped that standing since the famous Coulthard-Hakkinen partnership of 1998. And it would rightly be celebrated. The prize money and acclaim arising from being the leading constructor is valuable and to be respected. But it is the drivers that make the news. When reflecting on the 2021 season, nobody remembers that Mercedes secured the constructors title in Abu Dhabi. And nobody at Mercedes was celebrating at the chequered flag.

Why then, have McLaren not yet gone all in on a Lando Norris title charge? The Red Bull is clearly wilting and Norris continues to creep up on Verstappen. However, progress has been hindered by the McLaren bosses’ papaya rules, which dictate that the driver must earn their position as lead car on-track. That is honourable, perhaps, but world championships are scarcely built on honour. The treatment of Bottas and Perez in the pursuit of world titles for Mercedes and Red Bull respectively was, at times, ruthless. The teams recognised that it needed to be.

Norris remains 62 points adrift of Verstappen with 8 grands prix remaining. Opportunities to close that gap have been missed. First, in Hungary, where Norris was told to allow Piastri to pass in the closing stages in odd circumstances. Second, at Monza, where Piastri’s challenge waivered late on but he was allowed to retain his second place. If the team had intervened, Verstappen’s lead would already have been cut to just 52 points.

Norris might yet win the championship. McLaren may yet have their cake and eat it. But is that risk really worth taking? An opportunity of this magnitude cannot be wasted. Particularly one for which so many people have worked so hard, and waited so long.

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By Leon Parrott