McLaren’s ascension to the front of the field in 2024 has been meteoric. But it has also coincided with Red Bull’s decline owing to the RB20 ailing with several issues. The statistics don’t lie, and since the 2024 British Grand Prix, Lando Norris has pulled a superior lead over Max Verstappen.
In the seven races after Silverstone, Norris has led 150 laps compared to Verstappen’s lowly 25. This is a 6x deficit for the Dutchman — who is generally used to dominating the field. This stat gets even more concerning for Verstappen given the dynamics of the championship battle.
Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri are the only drivers to lead over 40 laps since Silverstone & they’re way ahead.
In that span, Lando has led 6x as many laps as Max Verstappen.
Laps led since
Norris – 150
Piastri – 118
Leclerc – 39
Russell – 31
Hamilton – 30
Verstappen – 25 pic.twitter.com/hhEtNaVvU2— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) October 17, 2024
McLaren are clearly the benchmark of the field and will do whatever is necessary to help Norris reduce the 52-point deficit with Verstappen. On the other hand, with only six races to go, the #1 driver needs to be as close to the Briton as possible.
That said, as the statistic shows, the battle for P2 onwards is very tight given the relative performance of teams like Mercedes and Ferrari. Further, with an underperforming Sergio Perez, Verstappen does not have the luxury of a strategic advantage.
Red Bull’s Austin upgrade is Verstappen’s last hope against Norris
McLaren perfected their ground-effect concept over the course of the 2023 season. On the other hand, the Bulls hit a ceiling with the developmental potential of the RB19/20 evolution. As things stand, Verstappen needs his team to turn their misfortunes around if he wants a shot at his fourth world title.
Going into the US GP, this weekend, the team has flirted with the idea of a game-changing upgrade package. Team advisor, Helmut Marko is buoyant about the potential of these upgrades and expects the Dutchman to be leading the field once again.
While there has not been any confirmation with respect to this upgrade package, it is being suggested that the team has focused mainly on the floor. The RB20, in its current iteration, suffers from massive balance issues on the rear. The Milton Keynes-based team would hope to counter this after promising pace at Baku and Singapore.
