La McLaren in the last few races it has come out into the open. The team led by Andrea Stella moved to the top of the rankings with constant growth that intimidated not only Ferrari but also Red Bull. One of the team's strengths is also that of having two young drivers on the team who are at the same level, despite it being only the second season for Oscar Piastri. Even Red Bull super consultant Helmut Marko al Journal of Montreal he confessed to having a soft spot, sportingly speaking, for the pair of McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Helmut Marko, the Norris-Piastri duo is the best in the paddock
In the last three races, McLaren has scored 88 points. Not a bad haul especially when compared to that of the competition. Ferrari with the double zero collected in Canada remains stuck on 65 points. Red Bull fared worse, with Perez's two DNFs the Austrian team only scored 62 points. Only two more than Mercedes who scored 60. Red Bull is paying for the terrible performance of Sergio Perez in addition to the updates that have made the RB20 even more difficult to govern. The Verstappen - Perez pairing has worked in past years but this year Perez, with a less competitive car, seems further away. Despite the disappointing results, Red Bull has chosen to renew the Mexican for another year with an option also for 2026. Although Marko has not directly commented on the choice to renew Perez the super consultant wanted to make his preferences known, praising the McLaren line up instead.
“For me Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are the best pair of riders in the paddock, they are young and hungry. They then get along well with each other and work well together."
The jab at Perez, and the differences with Horner in the choices of the line ups
A jab that probably hits Sergio Perez more, also considering the result in Canada and the fact that Max Verstappen always manages to cover the team's difficulties with his own performances. It therefore makes you wonder what other driver Marko would have wanted alongside the three-time world champion. Probably one between Norris and Piastri considering the consideration he has for these two drivers. But Marko, perhaps weakened by Christian Horner's takeover after Mateschitz's death, had to surrender to the team's decisions. It's no secret that there are differences between the two, especially in the choices of the lineup. Even in Visa Cash App RB for example, Marko has a different idea about Ricciardo.
"I didn't hear Villeneuve's comments about him, but Daniel was supposed to beat Yuki in Racing Bulls and that wasn't the case this year. In fact, it's the opposite. Tsunoda has changed a lot since he arrived in F1, has improved during its development. We are talking about an emotional driver who is managing to limit his mistakes. Other teams wanted it, but he is young and fits our model, that's why we extended his contract by a year."
Source statements: FormulaPassion
