AUSTIN, Texas – In a significant shift during the 2023 Formula 1 season, McLaren drivers are no longer the frontrunners for the world championship. Current odds from ESPN BET Sportsbook place Max Verstappen as the favorite at +150, while Oscar Piastri stands at +175 and Lando Norris at +200. Just three races ago, Verstappen’s odds were as long as +8000, highlighting his remarkable comeback in the drivers’ standings.
The recent performance from Verstappen and his team, Red Bull Racing, has put them in a strong position, while McLaren is feeling the pressure after a disappointing weekend at the U.S. Grand Prix. Despite this, McLaren’s team principal, Andrea Stella, remains composed and focused on the task ahead. “The danger for me is the same as there was in Baku,” Stella stated in Austin. “Max is in the contest for the drivers’ championship, and we have been aware of this threat for several races.”
Verstappen’s resurgence is evident; since the Italian Grand Prix, he has outscored both McLaren drivers combined, reducing his gap to Piastri by 64 points. If this trend continues over the final five races of the season, Verstappen could potentially overtake both McLaren drivers for the championship.
The Red Bull car, now the fastest on the grid, has benefited from significant upgrades and improved setup directions. In contrast, McLaren’s drivers have struggled to extract optimal performance from their vehicles, compounded by errors such as Piastri’s crashes during qualifying and the race in Baku. As a result, the gap between Verstappen and the McLaren drivers has narrowed sharply.
Despite the challenges, McLaren holds a crucial advantage. If either Piastri or Norris manages to outscore Verstappen in just one of the remaining races, Verstappen’s path to the title becomes significantly more complicated. Stella is optimistic about upcoming circuits, believing that tracks like Brazil, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi align better with McLaren’s strengths compared to recent layouts.
“We have good tracks coming for our car, and I think we have more that we could have exploited out of our car,” Stella noted. He also emphasized that both drivers recognize their potential for improvement. In the five races since the summer break, Piastri’s average finishing position is 6.6, while Norris’s is 6.4, compared to Verstappen’s impressive 1.4.
Stella expressed confidence that Norris could have contended for victory in Austin had he not lost a position to Charles Leclerc at the start. Similarly, he acknowledged that Piastri’s performance in Austin fell short of expectations but believes valuable lessons were learned that can be applied in future races.
The team’s prior performance in the sprint race, where both drivers collided and retired, has had lasting repercussions. McLaren missed out on critical data that could have enhanced their strategy for the main race. Without data from the sprint race, the team had to take a conservative approach in Austin, sacrificing performance potential.
Stella explained, “It’s about ride heights and missing references to fully exploit what is allowed on a track like COTA.” With the current generation of F1 cars, small adjustments can lead to significant aerodynamic gains, making data from actual race conditions invaluable.
Looking ahead, McLaren faces a strategic decision regarding driver support. Piastri currently leads the championship with a 14-point margin, but Norris’s recent form complicates the decision. During the weekend, McLaren reaffirmed its commitment to providing both drivers with equal opportunities, emphasizing that mathematics will ultimately dictate any changes in strategy.
“When it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics,” Stella stated. He recalled past seasons where championship outcomes shifted dramatically, indicating that every point matters.
As the pressure mounts, Stella’s message remains clear: McLaren’s strategy is to stay calm and focused. “We keep talking about the fact that what we are facing in this moment is a tight competition to win races and the drivers’ championship,” he explained. “We want to ensure we perform at our best while also enjoying the process.”
With the championship battle intensifying and only five races left in the season, McLaren’s focus will be on maximizing performance and navigating the challenges posed by Verstappen and Red Bull. The coming weeks will be crucial in determining whether McLaren can reclaim its position at the top of the standings.
