Rand Norris has asserted that Max Verstappen will remain in the fight for the Formula One title despite the Red Bull struggle.
Verstappen went back to his previous victory method, winning two McLarens at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Dutch’s victory at Suzuka means he’s only one point behind in the rankings of Formula 1 drivers three rounds later.
McLaren starts the year with the fastest cars and is comfortably leading the F1 Constructors Championship.
Recognizing the start of McLaren’s season, Norris told Sky Sports ahead of Bahrain Granpuri:
“Yes, but not. Max and Red Bull did a good job with cars they say they are struggling. But in the same case we know our struggle. We know how difficult it is to drive a car.
“We know we have made some mistakes and have to improve in certain areas. It’s still a long season. We’re in the round for now. We’re not ahead of ourselves, but we also know we need to do a lot of work with this car before we can concentrate on next year.
“I think we got some great results, especially in the main race. We lost some points and some in the Chinese sprint race.”
McLaren “we need to do better”
It wasn’t the perfect season for Norris and McLaren.
Norris is more than one lap in particular about his struggle with handling of McLaren Challengers this year.
Norris was often beaten by Oscar Piastri in China over the weekend.
Piastri appeared to be at a good pace while he finished ahead of his teammates in Japan.
With Verstappen expected to remain a consistent threat throughout the season, Norris knows that improvements are still needed.
“It was a good start, but there are still many opportunities for us to improve and do better than we were doing,” Norris added.
“Like you said, Max is nearby, so we need to do better. I’m sure he’ll be behind for a long time and fall behind.”