Max Verstappen’s points v McLaren’s pace: Where the advantage lies in F1 2024 title fight

Max Verstappen not only has the points advantage in the title race but he also has the advantage of experience having gone wheel-to-wheel with Lewis Hamilton for the 2021 title.

But with that advantage comes pressure as he’s “expected” to beat Lando Norris to the Drivers’ title, says Timo Glock.

Max Verstappen leads Lando Norris by 52 points in the fight for the World title

No one foresaw after round 10 of the championship when Max Verstappen stood on the top step of the podium at the Spanish Grand Prix, his seventh P1 of the campaign, that eight races later Formula 1 would have a title fight.

That Barcelona victory marked the Red Bull driver’s last victory with Verstappen currently on an eight-race winless streak.

Red Bull have lost pace as they’ve introduced upgrades to the RB20, turning a fast car into an unbalanced one – or a “monster” as Verstappen called it. As a result, Verstappen has only been on the podium three times since his Spanish victory.

Red Bull’s decline has been magnified by McLaren’s surge, the Woking team nailing their updates to put Lando Norris in with a shot at winning the World title. The Briton, who has won three races this season, is 52 points behind Verstappen with a maximum of 180 in play at the last six race weekends.

52 points may sound like a comfortable gap but Glock has warned anything could still happen.

“That sounds like a lot, but Verstappen knows that he can end up in the middle of nowhere with his car in qualifying,” Glock told Web.de “And then suddenly it’s not such a huge lead anymore.

“And when you keep going into the weekend and aren’t 100 per cent sure where you are, how close you are, that’s even more pressure and more tension. I expect it to stay exciting and close until the end.

“Verstappen is under more pressure because he has to manage his lead. For his pursuer Norris, he has to think from race to race, win every race, and that’s all he can do.

“However, everyone expects Verstappen to win the World Championship title. All eyes are on him and Red Bull.”

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Max Verstappen’s points v McLaren’s pace advantage

The former Toyota F1 driver reckons there are advantages for both Verstappen and Norris as while the reigning World Champion has already come out on top in one intense title fight, beating Lewis Hamilton in 2021, Norris has the fastest car on the grid in his McLaren MCL38.

“Max gained a lot of experience from the 2021 title showdown in Abu Dhabi against Lewis Hamilton. He knows how to deal with such tight and tricky situations. Here, too, the advantage clearly lies with him,” said the German.

But, he added: “McLaren clearly has the advantage because it works on every type of track. They are there straight away, the basic setup is right. This gives Norris the opportunity to get used to the car and the track early on.

“With Verstappen and Red Bull, they still have to work on the setup until the qualifying and tweak it from left to right to get the car into the right window. The consistency makes it much easier for McLaren.”

But that’s the McLaren advantage that could see Norris overhaul Verstappen to win his maiden F1 World title.

“At McLaren, those in charge and both drivers are very good at taking the team along,” Glock explained. “The upturn has put McLaren in a certain flow, which motivates you even more because you know you have a chance to catch Verstappen.

“At Red Bull, the pressure is high, but they have always been able to handle it well. But there is also the aforementioned unrest, which can play a big role. For both teams, it is also about properly managing the strain on employees due to the very long season.”

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