“Lando has distinguished himself as the most consistent competitor,” stated Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. Catch all the action from the Sprint weekend in Austria live on Sky Sports F1, with Sprint Qualifying starting on Friday at 3:30pm.
Verstappen and Norris have finished in the top two spots in five of the last six grands prix.
While the reigning champion Verstappen has secured five victories compared to Norris’ one, the McLaren driver has been close behind at Imola, Montreal, and Barcelona, indicating he could be a legitimate threat to Verstappen over the remaining 14 races in the 2024 season.
Norris’ second-place finish in Spain moved him ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to a career-best second place in the Drivers’ Championship, trailing Verstappen by 69 points.
Reflecting on the narrow two-second victory over Norris at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Horner commented, “If Lando had the track position, it would have been difficult to beat him. It was very close between them, and they were 18 seconds ahead of the rest. Lando has emerged as the most consistent challenger.”
Norris, who won his first grand prix in May at the Miami GP, has now finished second ten times—nine times behind Verstappen—since McLaren’s major car upgrade at last year’s Austrian GP.
Regarding the upcoming Sprint event at the Red Bull Ring, Horner noted, “On such a short lap, it’s going to be tight, and we expect McLaren and Lando to be fast again. Ferrari and Mercedes? Who knows. The gap to those teams was similar to last year. Lando has stepped up.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, whose team finished third and fourth in Barcelona ahead of the Ferraris, acknowledged that Red Bull and McLaren are currently ahead of the field. “The McLaren was very quick in Spain. Max always has a bit extra, making the difference, but there’s not much between these two teams, and they are setting the benchmark.”
Despite Norris’ championship gap to Verstappen increasing by 13 points over the last two races, the McLaren driver could still turn it around with many points still available this season (396). This weekend’s Sprint event in Austria offers an additional eight points.
Asked about his title chances after Spain, Norris remarked, “We should have gained some points on Max. There was a chance to beat him in Canada. Despite moving into second in the championship, the gap to Max is still growing, and we can’t let him run away with it. We have what it takes; it’s just about putting it all together.”
Norris secured his second career pole position in Spain but lost the advantage at the start, dropping from first to third. McLaren extended Norris’ first two stints compared to Red Bull, allowing him to challenge Verstappen on fresher tires after pit stops, but he ran out of laps to attempt an overtake.
“McLaren looks fast at the end of stints, which we’ve seen at a few races now,” Horner observed. “Their tire degradation seems good, but it’s offset by strategy and tire life overlap. We managed to secure our seventh win in ten races. Max demonstrated why he’s the world champion—delivering at key moments.”
Horner added, “Max is fantastic under pressure. Last year was exceptional; this year is more normal. Winning all the time isn’t normal, and we’re fighting hard for it. Max makes the key difference. We know where to improve and are working to maintain our championship lead.”