Red Bull heads into the F1 summer break as championship leaders. However, their advantage at the top over McLaren is down to 42 points after the Belgian GP, putting the Woking team in a position to overtake them. They have done an excellent job with their car’s development. Besides these positive scenarios, CEO Zak Brown is also grateful they don’t have the Sergio Perez problem.
The current McLaren driver lineup is extremely strong and can lead the team to glory for many years. That is exactly the problem at Red Bull surrounding Perez. Currently, only Max Verstappen is pulling the weight at the Austrian outfit trying to maintain the lead in the championship.
The Mexican has become an underperforming asset which is hurting Red Bull in the standings. This is an extremely favorable scenario for McLaren and Brown couldn’t help but enjoy Perez’s continuation at Red Bull.
Per RacingNews365, the American CEO said, “Yes, it is a difficult situation. They are in a situation where they have a driver who is leading the championship and a driver who is hanging around in P7. I’m very happy with our drivers. Fortunately, we don’t have those problems!“
Zak Brown believes an underperforming Sergio Perez is key to McLaren’s Constructors’ title chances.#F1 #ZakBrown #McLaren #SergioPerez #RedBull pic.twitter.com/Nf3YTCtRNt
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) July 6, 2024
However, Brown does recognize Perez’s talents. He admitted the Mexican’s a race winner and an excellent driver. He’s just currently going through a slump. Even the Woking outfit has faced similar problems with Daniel Ricciardo. Not anymore, both their drivers are in good form, performing at a high level. However, for now, they’re focusing on the constructors’ title.
McLaren is focusing on the constructor’s title instead of the drivers’ championship
Lando Norris suffered a blow in his championship charge when the team ordered him to surrender his lead to his teammate for the Hungarian GP win. However, for McLaren, it was a win and a positive weekend.
The team secured maximum points and that’s the aim every race weekend. The Woking outfit’s energy is now focused on poaching the constructor’s title away from the reigning champions. At least for now, Oscar Piastri is of that understanding.
Sky Sports quoted the Aussie as saying, “The first objective is to win the constructors’ for the team and I think we’ve got a very strong chance of doing that. We’ve been closing the gap to Red Bull in the last six or seven races. The first target is to win the constructors’ and try do a good job for myself as well.”
Piastri has won his first race in Hungary. Now, his focus is on the team goal. Currently, the Woking outfit has the momentum and advantage over Red Bull. Still, it’s anybody’s guess who will come out on top after the summer break.
