Norris Warns of Red Bull and Verstappen’s Resurgence
Lando Norris, McLaren driver, has expressed that Red Bull’s recent resurgence in the last two races should not surprise anyone, anticipating that Max Verstappen will become a serious contender in the fight for the championship. After Verstappen’s consecutive victories in Azerbaijan and Italy, the current champion has moved closer to the top of the standings, being only 44 points behind Norris, who is in second place. Verstappen’s victory at Monza ended a streak of eight races without a win, a period in which he only achieved two podiums, highlighting Red Bull’s difficulties in maintaining its usual performance.Norris highlighted that Verstappen and Red Bull’s performance at the beginning of the season already showed their potential, and that the recent victories are consistent with their previous performance. In addition, the British driver emphasized the importance of the improvements that Red Bull introduced in Monza, which seem to have given them an additional boost. In the current season, Norris has been competing for the title with his teammate, Oscar Piastri, and is currently 25 points behind the Australian in the standings. Norris admitted that McLaren struggled in the last two races, in Baku and Monza, circuits that seem to favor Red Bull’s strengths. “They are going to make our lives difficult for the rest of the season, but we also know that, for our part, we have had difficulties here [in Baku]. In Monza, we were clearly not fast enough,” Norris added. “We have made improvements, but in the aspects in which Red Bull has been so good and dominant in the past, they still are and we are not.” Norris also commented on his weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, noting that the chaotic qualifying session on Saturday ruined his chances. After Piastri crashed at the start of Q3, Norris was the first driver to go out on track and encountered the end of a downpour, which made it difficult to get a clean lap. “I think, as for the final pace, we weren’t bad this weekend [in Baku]. I was still fast in free practice 1, 2 and 3, and so on,” Norris said. “If it had been a normal qualifying… I think the difficult conditions, the light rain, going out first on the track, all contributed to it being the worst weekend.” “Our position in the race, I think if I had come out second, I think I would have finished second. Honestly, I don’t think we had the pace of Red Bull. That was very, very clear. I think on the tracks with less downforce, it still seems like we suffer.” “We still don’t have the confidence we need. It can be fast, but we are not able to repeat it as often as we need and as often as Red Bull, for example. We’ve had an incredible season, don’t get me wrong, but we clearly have things that aren’t good enough and we have to keep working on them.”It’s not often they’re slow, so I think people should stop being surprised that they’re quick.
Lando Norris
