McLaren team principal Andrea Stella concedes that Red Bull and Max Verstappen are a ‘faster’ package than his Papaya team have with either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri.
The Woking team frequently emerged as Red Bull’s closest competitor towards the end of 2023, with Norris and Piastri showcasing their skills. However, Verstappen consistently remained a step or two ahead of the McLaren drivers. The only time he finished behind them in a Grand Prix was in Singapore in September.
Verstappen had an incredibly dominant season in Formula 1 history, securing 19 wins out of 22 Grand Prix races. The only time he missed out on a podium finish was at the Singapore GP, where Carlos Sainz managed to hold off Norris and claim victory. This interrupted Verstappen’s streak of 18 wins in 19 races.
In 2023, Max Verstappen finished just one Grand Prix behind a McLaren driver. Norris also posed a threat to Verstappen’s race wins at the British GP and the Sao Paolo GP. However, despite his efforts, Norris was unable to keep up with the 26-year-old driver. Norris himself admitted that he knew he couldn’t compete with Verstappen at the United States GP.
Even in the Sprint events, Verstappen mostly emerged as the victor in 2023, securing four wins. At the Azerbaijan GP, Sergio Perez managed to hold off Charles Leclerc and Verstappen to claim victory in the Sprint race. Meanwhile, Piastri narrowly defeated Verstappen by a margin of only 1.871 seconds to win the Sprint race at the Qatar GP.
The Qatar GP Sprint marked McLaren’s sole victory in 2023, while Norris and Piastri achieved their best qualifying positions of second place in the British GP, Dutch GP, United States GP, and Japanese GP respectively. Piastri secured the pole position in the Sprint Shootout before triumphing in Qatar.
Andrea Stella, McLaren’s chief, commends Max Verstappen and Red Bull, describing them as “outstanding” and acknowledging their superior speed compared to McLaren’s drivers, Norris and Piastri. Stella recognizes the formidable combination of Verstappen and Red Bull, which proved to be a dominant force in the 2023 season.
Stella emphasizes the interdependence between Verstappen and Red Bull, stating that even a talented driver like Verstappen can only perform within the limits of his car. He acknowledges that McLaren must acknowledge the superiority of Verstappen and Red Bull and strive to surpass them.
Stella praises Red Bull’s capability to achieve such impressive results, particularly highlighting the exceptional performances of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in qualifying. However, he acknowledges that McLaren’s car, regardless of the driver, could not match the speed of Red Bull in the latter part of the races. Red Bull’s ability to preserve tire performance played a significant role in their advantage.
Verstappen’s ability to consistently perform at an exceptionally high level sets him apart from other drivers. Whether it’s racing in challenging weather conditions at Zandvoort or adapting to changing circumstances in Q3 in Brazil, Verstappen consistently demonstrates the true potential of the Red Bull car.
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