Lando Norris conquered his first victory in the Grand Prix held in Miami. Despite facing formidable opponents such as Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team, Norris defied expectations and emerged as the winner. His exceptional performance led experts to consider him a strong contender in the championship battle against Verstappen. This has caused concern for the Austrian team, which had previously dismissed the idea of Norris competing for the championship.
During the Miami GP weekend, McLaren introduced several improvements to their MCL38 car in hopes of achieving a better balance against rivals like Red Bull and Ferrari. However, the weekend started off on a complicated note for the English team when Norris was involved in a collision on the first lap of the Sprint race. As a result, the pressure was on Norris to salvage McLaren’s weekend during the main race on Sunday.
Fortunately, Norris delivered a remarkable performance and secured the victory, with Verstappen finishing as the runner-up. This led experts to see Norris as a true championship contender. However, Helmut Marko, a key figure in the Red Bull team, expressed skepticism about Norris’ chances. While acknowledging Norris as a strong rival, Marko emphasized the significant points difference between them, making it highly unlikely for Norris to close that gap.
Despite his confidence in Red Bull’s future performances, Marko believes the team needs to accelerate their development to avoid more unexpected results. Additionally, with Ferrari and McLaren progressing and challenging for wins, Marko is worried that Red Bull’s development advantage may diminish by the end of the season. The disappointing performance in Miami served as a wake-up call for Red Bull, prompting them to bring improvements for the next race in Imola.
Marko predicts that these improvements will give Red Bull a significant advantage over their competitors, increasing their chances of securing victory at the Italian circuit. However, he also expects Ferrari to introduce their own set of improvements in Imola, which could shake up the field and create a highly competitive race at their home track.
