Max Verstappen reckons McLaren will challenge Red Bull's supremacy, says 'they are really in the mix'
Max Verstappen survives late push by McLaren's Lando Norris
Defending Formula One champion Max Verstappen has backed McLaren to give a tough fight to Red Bull in the current season as the Dutchman searches for his fourth consecutive title. Ahead of the upcoming Grand Prix in Monaco, Verstappen thinks McLaren andinparticularLando Norris have the ability to dethrone Red Bull from the top, havingrecently won the Miami Grand Prix. While Verstappen still leads the path in the driver’schampionship, Norris will try to claim his second win of the season on Sunday.
Verstappen backs McLaren
"After their last fewracesthey [McLaren] are really in the mix," he told reporters. "Of course they are quite a few points down at the momentbutif they suddenly start winning, that can turn around quite quickly.”
Despite Verstappen’s claim that McLaren is the closest rival to Red Bull, the current picture backs the defending champions to conquer another title.At the time ofwriting, Red Bull lead the Constructor’s Championship with 56 points over second-placed FerrariwhileMcLaren are third with 154 points.
In the Driver’s Championship, Verstappenis leadingthe chart with 161 pointswhileNorris is fourth with 101 after seven races. However, he will be confident of his progress, havingrecently clinched his first win after finishing runner-up on 16 occasions. According to Norris, he and McLaren are not thinking about theChampionshipyet and will focus on giving the best shot for the team.
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"We have not thought about it [thechampionship]at allover the last four weeks. You concentrate on getting a good resultandthingsjustplay out for themselves," said Norris separately.
"We have definitely put ourselves in there. We lost a lot [of points] over the first couple of weekends, so that's hurt us, but we are about a third of the way through, so there are plenty of opportunities for us."
While eyes will be on Verstappen in Sunday’s race, Norris will be eager to make his markyetagain in Monaco. The Briton has been on the podium in four of the last five races and has not finished lower than eighth.
