Zak Brown, the CEO of McLaren, feels that there has been more action in the title match between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris than there has been in any Lewis Hamilton match. The Drivers’ Championship standings are now led by Verstappen, but in recent months, Norris has been closing the gap.
With Red Bull fading and possibly losing their Constructors’ Championship title, McLaren has become the fastest team on the grid. Oscar Piastri’s victory in Baku allowed McLaren to pull ahead of them in the standings, with Norris finishing in fourth place.
When asked how the championship match was going, Brown said he was enjoying it more than the famous 2021 match, in which Verstappen defeated Hamilton on the final lap of the season.
Since I’ve been here, I think this is the best Formula One season I can remember,” Brown remarked. “Yeah, that was really exciting [2021], but there are only two good guys in that. There are now four strong teams competing in today’s race.
“We have eight drivers heading into Singapore, four teams that can win any weekend, and [Sergio] Perez was clearly back on form today.
“We are saying, ‘I am not sure which of these eight drivers will win, or which of these four teams will win.'” That level of competition is unlike anything I can remember from Formula One.”
Despite the controversy surrounding the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the 2021 season is regarded by many as the best in Formula One history. By only permitting a few lapped cars to pass the safety car in the latter stages, race director Michael Masi violated the regulations.
Masi also avoided following protocol by starting the race again on the following lap instead of waiting for the lapped cars to reposition themselves and then finishing another full lap behind the safety car.
It remains to be seen if the FIA has learned from its previous mistakes or if the race for glory this season will generate a comparable degree of controversy. Either way, with Norris trailing Verstappen by just 59 points in the individual standings, it is looking like an exciting one.
In an effort to put an end to Verstappen’s reign of dominance, McLaren has stated that they will give Norris priority over Piastri. Team principal Andrea Stella told BBC Sport, “We [will] bias our support to Lando but we want to do it without too much compromise on our principles.”
“The interest of the team always comes first according to our principles. We value sportsmanship in our overall racing strategy and strive to treat both drivers fairly.”
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