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Stella and Norris see Verstappen as candidate for victory

Stella and Norris fear Verstappen for the race: 'Still the favourite!'

28 July at 07:00
Last update 28 July at 11:31
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  • Estéban den Toom

It will be a tall order for Max Verstappen to win the 2024 edition of the Belgian Grand Prix. However, when McLaren men Andrea Stella and Lando Norris are asked about Verstappen, they both say that the Dutchman is still a big threat for race victory despite starting from P11. They even called him the favourite.

Stella on Verstappen

"Max is definitely a threat. He's been exceptionally fast in dry conditions. He was very fast today in wet conditions. We knew on these tracks, Red Bull are likely to have an edge on us. That was proven today in wet, and yesterday in dry conditions to some extent. So he remains the favourite for the win even if he starts behind the first ten positions," Stella told various media outlets, including GPblog.

The plan for McLaren is clear though, Stella makes no secret of it. "We have to look out ourselves. We have to maximise. We have a tyre strategy that we are happy with. We do hard tyres. We need to explore the strengths of the car and hopefully gain a time advantage at the start that means that even if Max made it through the field, we will be far enough ahead."

Norris also sees Verstappen as a threat

Norris still sees the number one in the standings as a dangerous contender for race victory at Spa-Francorchamps. "Definitely a threat. They've been quicker than us all weekend. Even in FP2, they just didn't turn up the engine. They had a lot more in the bag. We have work to do. Even after a lot of great races, Red Bull have always been there or there abouts. He's going to be coming through quickly and he'll be a threat."