Lando Norris is confident that McLaren can fight for the Constructors’ title alongside Oscar Piastri. Norris believes his team has one of the best line-ups in F1. Looking further into the season, the British driver identifies Ferrari as McLaren’s biggest main threat. “Two is going to be better than one”, he said in reference to Verstappen and Red Bull.
Over the first nine rounds of 2024, two teams have established themselves as legitimate challengers to Red Bull. They are, of course, McLaren and Ferrari.
A key element of their progression is thanks to tremendous development. For the British team, a series of mid-season packages (Austria 2023, Miami 2024) made the difference.
At Ferrari, meanwhile, the winter break saw the production of an SF-24 machine that represents a huge evolution from its predecessor.
However, another key strength for these teams is their drivers. Andrea Stella and Fred Vasseur have two very evenly matched teammates at the wheel of their 2024 cars. The same cannot be said for Red Bull, who are largely relying on Verstappen – especially in recent events.
MONTREAL, QUEBEC – JUNE 09: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing, Second placed Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren and Third placed George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes celebrate on the podium after the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 09, 2024 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202406091002 // Usage for editorial use only //
NORRIS: MCLAREN HAVE TWO DRIVERS WHO MAXIMISE THE CAR
Speaking post-race in Canada, Lando Norris was asked for his thoughts on the Constructors battle:
“To be honest, at the minute, I think it’s between Ferrari and us. Yeah, so we’ll keep pushing.
“I think that’s one of our biggest strengths at the minute – we have two drivers, as McLaren, who are up there not making mistakes and getting pretty much everything out of the car every single weekend.
“Yeah, it’s rare. There’s not many other teams on the grid that have such a thing. So for us, it’s more of what we can do against Ferrari.
“Again, we’ve been a more consistent team coming into this weekend. They’ve [Ferrari] had some mistakes and just struggled a little bit more for whatever reason.
“But at the end of the day, I think two is going to be better than one, you know, in Max’s case.”
The 23-year-old also mentioned the growing threat posed by Mercedes, which could materialise into something more concrete.
It seems plausible that Red Bull’s driver pairing will be discussed quite frequently in 2024. Only time will tell if Sergio Perez can change the narrative.
