Verstappen and Red Bull Continue Dominance in 2024 Season
The 2024 Formula 1 season has kicked off with a bang, as Max Verstappen and Red Bull have continued their dominant form from the second half of 2022. Verstappen has won the first two races of the season from pole position by a significant margin, solidifying his position as the top driver in the sport.
However, the Australian Grand Prix saw Verstappen suffer an early retirement due to a braking issue, giving his rivals a glimmer of hope. But according to McLaren’s Lando Norris, there is little chance for other teams to catch up to Red Bull’s pace.
“No, I think for things to really shake up, you need to wait until 2026,” Norris said in an interview with Kosport Magazine. “I think that could potentially be a big shake-up for every team, including the power units probably being one of the biggest things.”
Norris believes that Red Bull’s advantage is not just in their power unit, but also in their overall car design. “Now there’s not really anything between the power units between teams, but a lot more between cars. I expect Red Bull, being the team that they are, to always carry an advantage because they’re ahead.”
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Shameem Fahath
Despite his admiration for Red Bull’s performance, Norris does hope that they will “run out of ideas” before the 2026 season. He acknowledges that even McLaren’s significant progress over the past year has not been enough to challenge Red Bull.
“They’re just as smart, smarter in many ways, that if they do just as good of a job as any other team, they should always carry the advantage that they have, but you do hope that they start to run out of good ideas,” Norris explained.
“I think every team is catching up. Even if you look at our 12 months of progress from last year, we’ve been the team who have developed the most and we’re the best developing team over the last 12 months.
“So, when you look at it from that perspective, I think we can be very happy with the job that we’re doing. But it’s not enough and it’s not close enough to challenge them.”
Ferrari Struggling to Keep Up with Red Bull, Says Sainz
In related news, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has also weighed in on Red Bull’s dominance, stating that his team will struggle to catch up until their first major upgrade of the season.
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