After the first few races of the 2024 Formula 1 season, very few people would have predicted that Max Verstappen’s closest rival at this stage of the campaign would be Lando Norris.
It’s a bit of a stretch to call it a close battle yet, with Lando Norris the same difference away from 7-place George Russell in the Drivers’ Championship as he is from the leader Max Verstappen.
However, McLaren haven’t just taken steps forward over the past 12 months but huge strides and have a car capable of going toe-to-toe with Red Bull at every opportunity.
Many F1 fans wrote this season off as a contest once Verstappen had dominated four of the first five races but now there’s a genuine opportunity for others on the grid to topple him from his throne at any race on the calendar.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has been speaking to Speedweek in the aftermath of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Marko is a big fan of Norris and recently suggested that he and Oscar Piastri are the best pairing on the Formula 1 grid.
However, Marko believes that there’s something Verstappen can do in his Red Bull that’s currently out of Norris’s reach.
It’s why he still believes the Dutchman is the man to beat on the grid even if McLaren may have a faster car at times this year.
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Helmut Marko believes Max Verstappen’s lack of errors gives him the edge over Lando Norris
Marko was speaking about the talented pair and said: “Last year, McLaren was resurrected at the Red Bull Ring. They brought their upgrade there and from then on, they were fast.
“However, Max [Verstappen] drives practically error-free, which Lando [Norris] can’t do yet, thank God, but he remains our main competitor.
“So I hope that Mercedes will get stronger and be the second strongest force for a while, that would certainly help us with a view to the World Championship.”
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Lando Norris’s frustrations getting the better of him in key moments
The Spanish Grand Prix was the perfect opportunity for Norris to add to his maiden win in Miami.
He produced one of the best qualifying performances seen for some time to take pole position off Max Verstappen but the run to the first corner proved to be his downfall.
All it took was the smallest amount of wheelspin in second gear to give Verstappen an opportunity and that forced him to hit the brakes early with George Russell powering around the outside of both of them heading into turn one.
From there, 2 place was always the best Norris was going to be able to do after the Dutchman cleared Russell much faster than he was able to.
David Croft and Karun Chandhok praised the calmness Norris has shown this season compared to previous years.
In the past, Norris may have gone all guns blazing into turn one on the opening lap and potentially ended the races of all three leading drivers.
He then made the mature call to not pit too late at the end of his second stint, minimising the chance of him losing 2 while still giving himself a shot of catching Verstappen at the end.
Aside from a big moment heading out of turn seven early in the race, Verstappen was once again faultless and his level of concentration while on the edge is remarkable.
Norris could reach that level one day, but Marko is confident Verstappen still has a slight edge over his friend and – for the first time in the Brit’s career – his closest championship challenger.
The post 'He remains': Helmut Marko shares what ‘main competitor’ Lando Norris ‘can’t do’ that Max Verstappen can appeared first on F1 Oversteer.