LONDON, Sept 16 (Askume) – Lando Norris said he was delighted with his McLaren leading the Formula One championship for the first time in more than a decade and suggested Ferrari were a greater threat than Red Bull.
Oscar Piastri’s impressive win and Norris’ fastest lap to move from 15th on the grid to fourth made McLaren’s lead untenable in Azerbaijan on Sunday, with champions Red Bull 20 points behind.
While fighting for third place, the Ferrari collided with Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez on the final lap, taking Carlos Sainz out and leaving Charles Leclerc to finish runner-up in pole position and become the second-highest point scorer.
The Italian team, who last won the Constructors’ Championship in 2008, are currently in third place, now only 31 points behind the reigning champions.
“The three races we have now – Monza, here and Singapore – we know our main rival is going to be Ferrari,” said Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, who has 59 points and is second overall.
“They have been the toughest competition for us lately … Between Carlos and Charles, they are the two guys who are doing well and putting pressure on us.”
Leclerc won at Monza and then took pole position for the fourth consecutive year at Baku after McLaren secured a front row starting position.
Singapore is a long way behind, with Sainz winning there last year and Norris finishing second.
“They are doing well and seem to be our closest rivals at the moment. So from a manufacturer’s point of view we are probably more worried about Ferrari than Red Bull,” the Briton told Sky Sports TV.
Major milestones
McLaren’s return to the title they last won in 1998 is another huge milestone in an already astonishing season.
Red Bull has held the lead in 55 races since the start of 2022.
The changes from the beginning of this year are staggering, let alone 2023, which already feels like another era, with statisticians scouring historical records to make comparisons.
Last year, Red Bull won a record 21 of 22 races, while McLaren – who last won the constructors’ title in 1998 – finished fourth, 558 points behind.
Four teams – McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes – have won at least three races this season, the last time this happened was in 1977.
There were also seven different competition winners, the most since 2012.
Rivals from the three teams battled it out on the Baku street circuit on Sunday , slipstreaming and correcting through corners like the racers of old.
However, Red Bull made dire predictions for another championship parade at the start of their season finale.
Norris finished eighth in the opening race in Bahrain, 48 seconds behind winner Verstappen. After the fifth round, the China Grand Prix, Verstappen had won four races and McLaren was 99 points behind Red Bull.
Then Norris won in Miami, narrowing the gap in a year without any major rule changes.
McLaren last finished on top at the 2014 Australian season-opener in Melbourne, with Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button finishing second and third respectively. It was their only time on the podium that year.
McLaren scored more points than any other in 2007, but were stripped of points due to a spying scandal. The team’s only championship title in the 21st century remains Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 drivers’ crown.
“The team has given us a car that can go out and win,” Norris said. “Looking back at the first race of the year, we were behind Mercedes. Now we are way ahead of them.
“We have done a great job chasing Red Bull. We should be very proud to have overtaken them in terms of points and pace and become the top team in F1.”
