McLaren may not be 'mature enough' to take the title yet

(Motorsport-Total.com) – In the Formula 1 World Championship battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko is hoping for a turnaround after the multi-week front row break. Ahead of next weekend in Austin, Red Bull's Verstappen still has a 52-point lead, but according to the latest results, McLaren's performance advantage now appears to be so large that a shift in the driver standings can no longer be ruled out. .

For Marko, the 2024 season is similar to the season it was 15 years ago, but vice versa for Red Bull In 2009, Jenson Button won six of the first seven races at Brawn, which is comparable to Verstappen's winning streak at the start. From this year's season. However, in the last ten Grands Prix, there has been no further victory for Button, and he has only achieved two podium finishes.

He was still able to win the title, although Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull managed to catch up significantly over the course of the season. 15 years later, this is Lando Norris in a McLaren. “You can compare that,” Marco says. In an interview with oe24 He was asked about the parallel between 2024 and 2009. “At that time, we were not mature enough as a team to win the World Cup. McLaren is doing the same thing now, although recently they have had the best car and a strong driver alongside Norris and Piastri.”

Marco: Norris is not on the same level as Verstappen

Since Red Bull appears to have clearly lost out in the development race for the 2024 season, Marko is mainly relying on the Verstappen factor. The Dutchman has already shown in the past that he can handle the increased pressure in the final surge of the season, while McLaren driver Norris, in addition to his strong pace, has repeatedly noted his mistakes.

Marko said about Verstappen: “Mentally and from a driving perspective, he is the best.” “Norris has a weak start and is not the strongest in the head. The pressure increases with each race because he actually has to win every time to catch up. Max finds it easier to defend. However Austin and a week later in Mexico now have two courses that suit him well.”

Red Bull updates as a turning point in the World Cup battle?

In addition, Red Bull had enough time after the Singapore Grand Prix to fundamentally and comprehensively analyze the car's problems. A new update is coming to Austin, which should make the RB20 more competitive again. “It is clear that we are seeing a certain upward trend, however, I must admit: recently we have faced the same problems that Ferrari and Mercedes had,” says the Austrian.

“Once it works, it doesn't work again, although we don't know why. McLaren is consistently fast. But maybe they waited too long there to make a clear commitment to Norris. So it's still a long way from Max.” Now we hope we can restore the car he trusts more. Our technicians have new parts and are optimistic.

But in Austin, Red Bull will have difficulty installing the new parts almost immediately. In the sprint format, teams have just one hour of testing time in the first free practice session before moving on to important points-related sessions. Over the course of the season, it became clear that Red Bull were often wrong with their Friday settings, but they were able to correct that in some cases during Saturday night, as was the case recently in Singapore.

“We have to fix the car in the first practice session, which has not exactly been our strength in recent events,” says Marko. “If Max starts winning again, Chico will go back to the front, and then we will be back in the race for the Constructors’ Championship.” However, McLaren currently leads the standings by 41 points.