For the first time in the ground effect era, Max Verstappen’s dominance has looked under threat in the 2024 F1 season. While the Dutchman has seven wins to his name, Lando Norris’ rise has given him a major headache. Norris is only 52 points behind Verstappen in the championship, after recently winning the Singapore GP.
As this points gap is trickling down, Lawrence Barretto believes that Norris has rattled the defending world champion. Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Barretto explained how Verstappen has been complaining much more often now than he ever did before.
Since Verstappen has failed to win any of the last eight races, it is no surprise that he would be unhappy with Red Bull’s performance. After winning 19 out of the 22 races last season, the 26-year-old won’t have expected this sort of a downfall in 2024.
Barretto highlighted the change in Verstappen’s behavior lately as he often speaks to drivers in the media pen. The F1 presenter stated, “He was trying to put a picture in place, which made me think for the first time, is he rattled? Is he starting to get rattled by Lando Norris?“
After the Azerbaijan GP, Red Bull lost the constructors’ championship lead to McLaren. Since the Spanish GP — which is where Verstappen won his last Grand Prix — McLaren have had the best package in the field. So, their performance trajectory is a big cause of concern for Red Bull to defend both of their championships.
Due to the RB20’s handling issues, Verstappen has not been able to match Norris’ or his teammate Oscar Piastri’s performance level. Hence, Red Bull desperately need to bring in upgrades for the upcoming races to give the Dutchman a car with which he can fight the McLarens on level terms.
Verstappen could be the favorite for the races ahead
For most of the 2024 season, Verstappen has explained the difficulties of the RB20 in performing well on street circuits or tracks that have a lot of bumps and kerbs. Since most of the races ahead will take place on traditional tracks that have fewer bumps and kerbs, Red Bull could once again have a better package.
However, beating the McLarens will still not be easy as the Woking-based outfit’s MCL38 has proven that it is quick on a variety of circuits. Moreover, with Norris beating Verstappen by over 20 seconds in Singapore, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella is confident that the British driver can win his maiden title this year.
Stella said, “Many points for the championship, and definitely the drivers’ championship is still on, the mission is on”. However, winning the championship is no longer in Norris’ hands.
As long as Verstappen can finish at least second in each of the races ahead [irrespective of the fastest lap points], he will win the title even if Norris were to win all the remaining sprint races and Grands Prix.
