Even though Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the 2024 Formula 1 world championship, it was McLaren which won their first constructor championship since 1998; Verstappen, in fact, became the first driver to win the title for a team not inside the top two in the team standings since 1983, when Nelson Piquet pulled it off.
Verstappen led the series in wins with nine, but McLaren's consistency, despite only winning six total races, was enough to see them land atop the standings, just ahead of another (seemingly) resurgent team in Ferrari, to end Red Bull's two-year run at the top.
McLaren built on that success in 2025, going back-to-back in relatively comfortable fashion with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Norris even won his first world championship this past season, beating Verstappen, again with third-place Red Bull, by just two points, despite the fact that the four-time world champion once again led the series in wins and completely shattered Michael Schumacher's record for career victories in seasons his team did not win the constructor championship.
McLaren are now set to aim to become the first team to three-peat since Mercedes won their third (of eight) in a row back in 2016, but the pecking order could be shaken up next year as new regulations sweep the sport following the four-year ground effect era.
McLaren's top Formula 1 challenger revealed for 2026
Specifically, new engine regulations could mix things up. At FanDuel Sportsbook, McLaren are still listed as the favorites to win the constructor world championship, but their implied chances to pull it off are less than 50%; they are listed at +125.
Unsurprisingly, it's Mercedes listed as their top challenger, and they might as well be neck and neck; the Silver Arrows are listed at +145. Next closest is Ferrari, which haven't won the constructor title since 2008, at +650.
It has long been believed that the Mercedes power unit could emerge as the top power unit heading into 2026, and McLaren also stand to benefit from that as a customer team. Mercedes placed second behind McLaren in 2025, but they finished a whopping 364 points behind.
If Mercedes are to return to the top of the sport, they will need George Russell to continue to improve after a strong 2025 campaign, and they will need far more consistency from Kimi Antonelli, whose rookie season was strong but still lacked in many areas. Russell was the only race winner not named Norris, Piastri, or Verstappen in 2025, and he won twice.
Though the consensus was that Verstappen was still the 2025 season's top overall driver, the consistency of both Norris and Piastri undoubtedly gave McLaren the top overall driver lineup, so if the McLaren is anywhere nearly as strong as it was this year next year, Mercedes are still in position to face an uphill battle to recapture championship glory.
Verstappen is the favorite to win the 2026 world championship at +210, ahead of Norris at +310, Russell at +360, and Piastri at +500, even though Red Bull, which are now partnered with Ford rather than Honda, are listed fourth on the team side at +1400.
They are barely ahead of Aston Martin, which are now partnered with Honda rather than Mercedes, at +1600, and Audi, formerly Sauber with Ferrari power units, at +2200.
Full Formula 1 driver and constructor world championship odds can be found here and are always subject to change.
The Australian Grand Prix is scheduled to get the 2026 Formula 1 season on Sunday, March 8 at Albert Park Circuit. The sport's new broadcast deal with Apple is set to go into effect for this race to kick off yet another record-tying 24-Grand Prix season.