McLaren is putting pressure on Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
Timo Glock has warned Red Bull that McLaren are “absolutely there”, they just need “one little thing” and they’ll be all over the back of Max Verstappen’s RB20 in a sustained challenge.
Despite the initial dominance of Red Bull’s RB20 car in the early stages of this year’s championship, with Verstappen securing victory in four out of the first five races, McLaren narrowed the margin in Miami with their updated ‘2.0’ MCL38 model.
Timo Glock: All it takes is one little thing…
Lando Norris was fortunate enough to benefit from a perfectly timed Safety Car, which allowed him to engage in a direct battle against Verstappen. Following the restart, the British driver skillfully pulled away and secured victory in the Miami Grand Prix with a comfortable lead of seven seconds.
Two weeks later at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Norris was back at it as he chased down Verstappen in the final 10 laps to put pressure on the Red Bull driver who was struggling with grip as he pushed hard to stay ahead.
Verstappen crossed the finish line with a narrow lead of only 0.725 seconds.
Glock is convinced that McLaren has successfully demonstrated their strong presence alongside Red Bull. Now, the focus is on exerting pressure on Red Bull and their triple World Champion.
“The altitude is increasing, making the air thinner,” stated the Sky pundit. “Max must fully commit to the race. Towards the end, the radio broadcast indicated a slight increase in his heart rate. He couldn’t afford to be passive.”
“And Lando Norris expressed his strong belief that they have reached that level and are determined to compete for the victory in the race.”
“Just a single event can easily push him into immense pressure throughout the entire race. McLaren is fully capable of applying significant pressure on Max Verstappen and Red Bull.”
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A near-miss for Norris but could he have overtaken Verstappen?
Glock has questioned whether Norris would have had the speed to overtake, despite his disappointment at coming close to closing the gap within DRS range in the final laps of the Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri, his team-mate, demonstrated during his battle with Carlos Sainz that catching up is simpler than overtaking.
Glock stated that Lando Norris was compelled to exert extra effort, evident from the onboard footage, as he encountered continuous obstacles. The underlying query remains: had he been granted the opportunity, would he have been able to seize it?
Oscar Piastri showcased impressive speed and was in close proximity to Carlos Sainz, but unfortunately, he lacked the chance to overtake in Turn One despite the DRS effect. This situation would have posed a challenge for Lando Norris as well.
However, he was aware that Max Verstappen had no room for error when it came to the track limits. That’s precisely why he applied pressure in order to provoke a mistake from him.
Max Verstappen’s lead could have been extended by an additional five seconds, giving Lando Norris an opportunity to potentially win the race. Nonetheless, Max Verstappen demonstrated his confidence once again and successfully maintained his position.
The Dutchman’s victory saw him race out to 161 points in the Drivers’ Championship where he is 48 ahead of Charles Leclerc. Norris in fourth place is a further 12 points off the pace.
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