Max Verstappen put on notice as F1 champion makes hefty Lando Norris claim
Lando Norris has been told that he is still in the running to catch Max Verstappen, with the McLaren driver 78 points adrift of the Red Bull star.
Lando Norris is Max Verstappen’s closest rival in the F1 drivers’ championship
Despite the substantial points gap as things stand, Max Verstappen has been warned by former champion Jacques Villeneuve that Lando Norris is still in the Formula 1 title race.
Red Bull are feeling the pressure with increased competition from their rivals of late, resulting in a significant narrowing of the points difference in the constructors’ championship. By the summer break, the title holders have just a 42-point lead over McLaren, who have been racking up substantial points consistently across numerous summer races.
British star Norris has impressed, but he remains some distance behind Verstappen in the drivers’ standings. The Dutch driver holds a 78-point lead over his closest competitor, and while Norris has been in the running for several victories, he currently boasts only a single win in Miami, reports the Mirror.
Despite the statistics, Villeneuve remains optimistic about Norris’ chances, telling Prime Casino: “Oh yeah, he (Norris) can (beat Verstappen) – of course he can. If McLaren continue on that form and Red Bull still suffer then yes he can.”
Yet Villeneuve tempered his assertion with a note of caution, pointing out the fierce level of competition, adding: “The problem that Norris might have is that he’s fighting too many other cars to get those points. He’s fighting the Mercedes. He’s fighting his teammate. And they will all take points off each other, and that will protect Max.
“It’s fantastic because it was unexpected. After the first few races, really the tide has changed dramatically. We were expecting Ferrari to go for the fight but instead it’s Mercedes and McLaren and maybe it’s up to the engine as well because it’s two Mercedes-engined cars that have made a step forward.
“When someone wins, or a team wins, year after year you just want them to be beaten. That’s just the way it is. When Mercedes were winning everything with Lewis [Hamilton] it got to a point where it was just please can someone beat them. That’s fun, that’s exciting, whoever it is, consistently. Now it seems that we have two teams and cars that can consistently beat Red Bull and Max.”
Jacques Villeneuve has backed Lando Norris to take the title fight to Max Verstappen
Villeneuve is not alone in believing that Norris is still in with a chance of toppling Verstappen. Hamilton, who has won twice himself this year but is too far back in the standings to have a realistic shot at the championship himself, recently backed his fellow Brit to pile the pressure on the Red Bull racer.
He said: “It’s not impossible, but it is a very high, huge challenge and task – but absolutely not impossible. They’ve got two very strong drivers that are able to compete against ultimately, currently in the championship, one car that’s really up there doing the point-scoring. So they’ve got something they can work with there, for sure.”
F1 is back from its summer hiatus with the Dutch Grand Prix, a home race for Verstappen, on Sunday, August 25. The 26-year-old has triumphed in all three of his visits to Zandvoort in his F1 career. However, with Red Bull’s speed now in question, it offers Norris a chance to start reducing his points gap.
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