McLaren Overtake
For several weeks, thanks in part to the evident difficulties of Red Bull, McLaren-Mercedes’ overtake in the constructors’ standings seemed almost imminent. The recent Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the 6.003-kilometre Baku City Circuit confirmed expectations, with McLaren not only surpassing Red Bull but also establishing a reassuring +20 lead ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, also as a result of the crash between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez in the final stages of the Baku race, which meant Ferrari and Red Bull lost valuable points.
The English team can thus celebrate having regained the top of the standings after more than 10 years, since the opening race of the 2014 Formula 1 championship in Melbourne, where Kevin Magnussen’s second place (on his debut) and Jenson Button’s third ensured the Woking team the championship lead, in a season that was later dominated by Mercedes.
Norris Fears the Red Team
McLaren must therefore try to capitalize on the performance advantage it seems to enjoy over its rivals at the moment. And Lando Norris is already looking behind, as he explained to Sky Sports UK: “Before the Monza, Baku, and Singapore trio, we were aware that Ferrari would be our main rival.”
The Briton continued: “Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc have performed well and put us under pressure, and Ferrari seems to be our main opponent at the moment. Looking at the constructors’ title, we are probably more concerned about Ferrari than Red Bull.”
The Maranello team led by Frederic Vasseur is 51 points behind McLaren and can certainly regret the incident that knocked Carlos Sainz out of the Azerbaijan GP when he was in third place.
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