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Lando Norris, right, won the Grand Prix of Netherlands with Max Verstappen second, and in doing so blew the race for the constructors' title wide open. Picture: RUDY CAREZZEVOLI/GETTY IMAGES
Zandvoort — McLaren and Dutch Grand Prix winner Lando Norris have blown the Formula One constructors’ championship wide open with Red Bull in danger of being overhauled, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says.
Norris took the chequered flag 22.8 seconds clear of Red Bull’s home hero Max Verstappen at a windy Zandvoort on Sunday, finishing with a fastest lap flourish to secure an additional point.
While the Briton is a huge 70 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ standings with nine races remaining, McLaren are now only 30 behind reigning champions Red Bull in the constructors’ battle.
“Norris has basically annihilated all of the competition with that fastest lap at the end, with a 42-lap old hard tyre and a 20-second gap,” Wolff said. “So this championship, the constructors’ championship, is wide open in my opinion and that’s good for Formula One.”
With sprint races inflating the available points tally at some weekends to come, the gap is one that could be closed relatively quickly.
Red Bull scored 54 points from the China sprint weekend alone in April while McLaren scored 27 points more than Red Bull in Hungary in July. McLaren have outscored once-dominant Red Bull in eight of the last nine races, while Mercedes, fourth overall, have done so in four of the last five.
There have been seven different race winners so far, the most since 2012, and while McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have triumphed with both their drivers, Sergio Perez has become Red Bull’s achilles heel. The Mexican has scored just 36 points in his last nine races but his team has stuck with him in the hope his contribution will pick up again.
While Mercedes are 158 points off the top, they have won three races this season, the same as McLaren and one more than third-placed Ferrari who are 34 points behind Norris’s team and have their home Italian Grand Prix next up on Sunday.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner pointed out that Sunday was still only the fourth time this season triple world champion Verstappen had come away from a race weekend with his points lead reduced. He recognised, however, that Red Bull — which started the season with Verstappen taking seven successive poles and winning seven of the first 10 races — had issues to resolve and McLaren currently had the quicker car.
“It can change very quickly, and that means it can change back the other way as well,” Horner said.
“McLaren has been the benchmark car over the past few races, we're very acutely aware that we need to respond to that. We’re used to being in championship fights over the years. We’ll dig deep and fight with everything we’ve got over the remaining nine races.”
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
F1 constructors’ title now wide open, says Wolff
Zandvoort — McLaren and Dutch Grand Prix winner Lando Norris have blown the Formula One constructors’ championship wide open with Red Bull in danger of being overhauled, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says.
Norris took the chequered flag 22.8 seconds clear of Red Bull’s home hero Max Verstappen at a windy Zandvoort on Sunday, finishing with a fastest lap flourish to secure an additional point.
While the Briton is a huge 70 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ standings with nine races remaining, McLaren are now only 30 behind reigning champions Red Bull in the constructors’ battle.
“Norris has basically annihilated all of the competition with that fastest lap at the end, with a 42-lap old hard tyre and a 20-second gap,” Wolff said. “So this championship, the constructors’ championship, is wide open in my opinion and that’s good for Formula One.”
With sprint races inflating the available points tally at some weekends to come, the gap is one that could be closed relatively quickly.
Red Bull scored 54 points from the China sprint weekend alone in April while McLaren scored 27 points more than Red Bull in Hungary in July. McLaren have outscored once-dominant Red Bull in eight of the last nine races, while Mercedes, fourth overall, have done so in four of the last five.
There have been seven different race winners so far, the most since 2012, and while McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have triumphed with both their drivers, Sergio Perez has become Red Bull’s achilles heel. The Mexican has scored just 36 points in his last nine races but his team has stuck with him in the hope his contribution will pick up again.
While Mercedes are 158 points off the top, they have won three races this season, the same as McLaren and one more than third-placed Ferrari who are 34 points behind Norris’s team and have their home Italian Grand Prix next up on Sunday.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner pointed out that Sunday was still only the fourth time this season triple world champion Verstappen had come away from a race weekend with his points lead reduced. He recognised, however, that Red Bull — which started the season with Verstappen taking seven successive poles and winning seven of the first 10 races — had issues to resolve and McLaren currently had the quicker car.
“It can change very quickly, and that means it can change back the other way as well,” Horner said.
“McLaren has been the benchmark car over the past few races, we're very acutely aware that we need to respond to that. We’re used to being in championship fights over the years. We’ll dig deep and fight with everything we’ve got over the remaining nine races.”
Reuters
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