Lando Norris’ win in Miami ensured that most conversations surrounding McLaren’s progress went in their favor. However, with Max Verstappen suffering balance issues owing to damage in his car, the question of whether or not he would have beaten Norris without them lingers. As such, F1 expert Karun Chandhok has given the Woking-based outfit one final challenge to prove themselves as Verstappen’s worthy competitor.
Chandhok feels that Red Bull wasn’t performing at an optimal level all weekend. Norris was close to Verstappen’s RB20 throughout and when it mattered the most, he held his nerve to outperform the Dutchman and take home the win.
That, per Chandhok, wasn’t enough. He believes that McLaren needs to do more than just perform well in one race. He has set a target for them.
“We’ve got a variety coming up, right? We got, you know, the Emilia, Monaco, Canada, (and) Barcelona. They’re four completely different circuits, but if McLaren can be competitive at all those four circuits, then you can say, ‘Okay, this is now a genuine threat for Red Bull.'”
The former F1 driver further pointed out the increase in confidence in McLaren themselves. The Woking-based outfit brought an upgrade to Norris’ car on a Sprint weekend, which is something teams refrain from doing.
Oscar Piastri’s performance was another highlight. The Aussie driver sat comfortably in P2 for the first stint of the race, showing just how much progress the papaya outfit has made. However, the pace Norris showed towards the end even took their Team Principal Andrea Stella by surprise.
Andrea Stella surprised by Lando Norris’ pace
Lando Norris was in the lead of the Miami GP when a safety car halted racing on lap 29. It gave him a free pit stop, allowing the Briton to put on fresh hard tires, which he managed effectively for the rest of the race while also being fast. This was evident by the fact that he won the Grand Prix with a gap of over seven seconds from Verstappen.
Andrea Stella about Lando Norris:
“I think by winning the first race on merit, as soon as the team gave him the material to win….he’ll be more relaxed and if the car keeps behaving like this, I think we’ll see possibly even better out of Lando.”
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Andrea Stella admitted that his team didn’t anticipate such a strong performance against Red Bull. He expected their car to be quick, but Verstappen having no answer for Norris’ pace was unfathomable. As such, they will take this performance positively and build on it in the coming races.
Norris’ win marked McLaren’s second P1 finish in 12 years. But their on-track performances say much more. From hereon, the team will be hoping to make standing on the top step of the podium a more regular occurrence.
