McLaren has already secured the constructor’s title, but the battle for the driver’s title is far from over. Following Max Verstappen‘s recent surge in the drivers’ championship, the Dutchman seems to be slowly re-entering the fray, although the world champion himself does not rate his chances highly. According to Verstappen, the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore masked the true speed of the McLarens.
Over the past three races, Max Verstappen has secured 68 valuable championship points, more than his closest title rivals Oscar Piastri – the Australian garnered 27 points – and Lando Norris – who collected 45 points. The gap to championship leader Piastri has now shrunk to 63 points for Verstappen, but according to the Dutchman himself, he is not yet a serious title contender.
“We really need to gain more on them during a race weekend,” Verstappen candidly tells BBC Chequered Flag. “It was also difficult to see the true pace of the McLaren because Lando was actually stuck behind me for the entire race. He was actually much faster. As soon as I made a pit stop in the first stint, he was a lot quicker. And I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with that pace. If it had been a normal circuit, he would have just overtaken me and driven away. So they are still the benchmark. We still need to work on a few things, but it was already much better.”
Inspiration
Despite the victory in Singapore going to George Russell, both McLaren drivers secured enough championship points to clinify the constructor’s title. It’s the second time in a row that the team has won this title. “They’ve done a great job all year, so they fully deserve that title,” Verstappen congratulates the British team. “I’m very happy for them. They’ve worked hard, as a few years ago they obviously had a few difficult seasons. It’s remarkable how they’ve recovered. It’s also a lesson for everyone in this paddock that anything is possible.”
