Verstappen disagrees with Russell's 'dominance' statement: 'Hard to say'
F1 News
- Estéban den Toom
George Russell claimed on Thursday before the China race weekend that McLaren is currently more dominant than Red Bull has ever been. With Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri showing strong form, McLaren appears to be the team to beat this season. However, Max Verstappen found Russell's statement a bit odd. The four-time world champion argued that such claims can only be made if you’ve driven both cars, pointing out that he hasn’t experienced the McLaren firsthand to compare it to Red Bull's performance.
Verstappen reacts to Russell's extraordinary statement
During the race weekend in Australia, McLaren proved to be the team to beat, with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri starting from the front row of the grid. However, Max Verstappen still came close to victory, closing in on Norris in the final laps. Verstappen was presented with George Russell's statements about McLaren's dominance, and he responded by emphasizing that such claims can only be made if someone has driven both the McLaren and Red Bull cars firsthand. "I always struggle to really answer that correctly, because it's impossible to say, right? Unless you have driven that car yourself," Verstappen responded when presented with Russell's statement.
Before the season, Verstappen himself also said McLaren was the top favourite for the world titles. He still seems to stand by that now. "They're super strong. I have a lot of respect for what they have done already last year and now they're very fast. Very all-round, good everywhere. That is just a fact now, how big the gap is or whatever is difficult to say."
This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon
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