McLaren Boss Confesses ‘Capital Letter’ Max Verstappen Threat After Back-to-Back F1 Wins

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella admitted that Max Verstappen was a real threat in the championship fight for Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

McLaren Boss Confesses ‘Capital Letter’ Max Verstappen Threat After Back-to-Back F1 Wins

Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via Planetf1)

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Max Verstappen has once again bounced back after an underwhelming few races. The reigning world champion has won two races in a row, the Italian GP and the Azerbaijan GP. Both wins came in dominant fashion. This has raised speculation whether Verstappen can indeed defend his title against Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Now, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has confirmed that the Dutch driver is a real threat.

At Monza, Max Verstappen took the fastest race victory in the history of Formula 1. The following race in Baku, the Red Bull star clinched the sixth grand slam of his career, taking pole, leading every lap, winning the race, and getting the fastest lap. On the other hand, the two McLarens have struggled. Oscar Piastri crashed out twice in Baku, while Norris could only bring home six points. This has brought down the championship gap drastically. With 7 races to go, Verstappen is only 69 points behind championship leader Piastri with an even smaller gap to Norris.

Andrea Stella was asked if Max Verstappen was now a real threat in the title fight. The McLaren boss asserted that the Dutch driver is a threat in ‘capital letters’ for the Woking-based squad, with his two wins confirming this scenario. Stella pointed out that one can never rule out Verstappen and Red Bull, particularly after the improvements made at the Italian GP.

I used the capital letters already yesterday, when I said yes in capital letters, and today, I think it just confirms. We’re talking about Max Verstappen. We’re talking about Red Bull. We have already seen in Monza that they improved.

Andrea Stella said, as quoted by PlanetF1

McLaren puts hopes on Singapore GP to fight back against Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen has managed to dominate the past two races. However, both races had similar track characteristics. Monza is known as the Temple of Speed, with long straights and tight chicanes. On the other hand, the Azerbaijan GP takes place on a narrow street circuit, albeit with long straights. It is believed that Red Bull’s car performs well in such low-drag circuits particularly after a recent floor upgrade.

Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri (via Red Bull)
Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri (via Red Bull)

Andrea Stella asserted that McLaren expected Red Bull to have a better run in the last two races. While the Woking-based squad already knew it might struggle in Baku. Now, Stella insisted that the Singapore GP should be a better track for the McLaren car. He hoped that this could bring Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris back in contention against Max Verstappen, and stop the Dutchman’s newfound momentum.

They seemed to have made an improvement with their car, because the way they won Monza was something more, for what was our assessment, than simply a car that adapts well at low drag… Conversely, we also knew that here in Baku for us would have been a difficult circuit. So we will see now in Singapore, which should be more of a one in which we should perform well. Hopefully, we can go back to fighting for victories, and then we will see how the rest of the championship will unfold.

Andrea Stella explained

Certainly, Max Verstappen is chipping away McLaren’s lead in the standings. Red Bull may have no change to win the constructors’ title this season. However, Verstappen is doing everything he can to win a fifth title in a row. If the Dutch driver succeeds in defeating Piastri and Norris by the end of the year, he would become the first driver since Michael Schumacher to win five titles in a row.

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