P1racenews AI automatic summary:
With seven rounds to go, the F1 title fight is heating up – but do the McLaren drivers now have another factor to worry about?
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has acknowledged that the room for mistakes for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri has decreased following Max Verstappen’s consecutive victories in Italy and Baku. Verstappen’s recent wins have raised speculations about his potential to interject in the title fight primarily between Norris and Piastri. Despite being 69 points behind championship leader Piastri, Stella remains firm in his view that Verstappen is a genuine championship contender. Stella emphasized the necessity for Norris and Piastri to factor in Verstappen when developing their race strategies. He underlined that the intense competition in Formula 1 demands impeccable performance without errors, as demonstrated by Verstappen’s resurgence. Stella recognized the importance of learning from setbacks in Baku, including reliability concerns for Piastri and a slow pit stop for Norris, to improve McLaren’s overall performance and competitiveness.
