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Marko analyses McLaren's lineup and smells opportunities for Verstappen
- Estéban den Toom
McLaren is widely regarded as the top contender heading into the new season, with both drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, positioned as strong challengers. Max Verstappen has already suggested that McLaren is likely to be the team to beat. However, Red Bull Racing's Helmut Marko believes that the ongoing battle between Piastri and Norris for supremacy within McLaren could play to Red Bull's advantage. Unlike McLaren, where both drivers will likely compete fiercely against each other, Red Bull does not face a similar situation.
Marko saw in Bahrain that one driver was clearly the faster. "If you take the test in Bahrain as a starting point, it was Lando Norris who was clearly ahead of Oscar Piastri. Although I think that was just a Bahrain-specific phenomenon. I rate Piastri as strong and I hope they cut points off each other so we can take advantage of that," Marko told German Sport.de.
Red Bull and McLaren in two different boats
At Red Bull, the situation is quite different compared to McLaren. Liam Lawson, who is stepping into the Red Bull car as a full-time driver for the first time this season, is still in the early stages of his Formula 1 career. This will be his first full season in the sport, and as a result, he is not expected to challenge Max Verstappen for the world title. According to Helmut Marko, the team's main focus will remain on Verstappen and his pursuit of a potential fifth world championship.
"With us, Max is the clear number one, and I don't think Piastri will volunteer to be number two. We saw that last season: at certain circuits, he was as fast, if not faster than Lando. However, the advantage for McLaren is that they currently have another car that - if we take Bahrain as a benchmark - can do well with any type of tyre and at any temperature," the Austrian concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon
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