P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Ex-F1 driver Karun Chandhok has claimed that McLaren’s deficit in the opening five races will be the reason that Lando Norris’ title bid comes up short in 2024.
Chandhok believes that Norris’ slim championship chances were essentially dashed in Brazil, not due to that race, but because of the gap Verstappen had built in the early dominant races. Verstappen’s strong lead cemented in the initial events set the tone for the season. Despite Norris closing the points gap before the Sao Paulo GP, Verstappen’s win boosted the lead to 62 points. Chandhok emphasized that McLaren could not have realistically competed with Verstappen in Brazil even without Norris’ errors, attributing the ultimate championship loss to the beginning races. The assessment is that McLaren can still be proud of their season and the points accumulated, but the defining moment of the championship was not Brazil but the initial races.
