Aston Martin have had a great start to the 2023 season but have been struggling of late. And now Lando Norris appears set to threaten their standings further.
At one point, the Silverstone-based team was the second-fastest team after Red Bull and took back-to-back podiums through Fernando Alonso.
However, after the FIA clampdown on their flexi wing, the Green team suffered significantly. At the same time, McLaren saw a sharp rise in their performance following this year’s Austrian GP. Therefore, Norris is sure of taking their battle to Aston Martin.
They are now regarded as one of the top teams behind Red Bull. While they are significantly behind Mercedes and Ferrari in terms of points due to their late start, they are not very far from Lawrence Stroll’s team.
With just six races to go this season, Norris hinted that Lance Stroll’s bad form could help them overtake Aston Martin.
The championship standings after the #F1 #JapaneseGP #RedBull is constructors champion#Verstappen can take his 3rd world title at the Sprint Race in Qatar if he doesn’t lose more than 5 points to Perez (172pts left after sprint). pic.twitter.com/mED0L1qTvP
— Ｍ (@markboots) September 24, 2023
The McLaren driver told F1 Maximaal after the Japanese Grand Prix, “I didn’t know the gap was so small, but with 49 points I do think it is possible.”
Upcoming upgrades could put McLaren ahead
When the season started this year, nobody could have predicted that Aston Martin might reach P5 from where they were in Bahrain. Having already lost their P2 and P3 to Mercedes and Ferrari, they are now on the verge of losing their P4 to McLaren.
As for the Papayas, the championship is already over with Red Bull claiming back-to-back Constructors’ championships. While Mercedes and Ferrari would be busy with their battle for P2, the Woking-based team would be happy with theirs against Aston Martin.
Notably, Zak Brown and his team are still to bring upgrades which could see them be significantly faster than most of the teams in the grid. This would also help the Woking-based team, who are in brilliant form, inch closer to Aston Martin in the championship.
