Max Verstappen is 63 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri with six race weekends left of the season. However, three of the remaining race weekends left include sprint races, putting more points on the table. With Red Bull making steps forward after recent upgrades, despite the large deficit, it has put the Dutchman back into the title conversation.
The four-time world champion has beaten both McLaren cars in the last three races and will hope to do the same in Austin. Former two-time world champion Fernando Alonso believes that the Dutchman could still be in with a shout of winning his fifth consecutive title.
Fernando Alonso praises Max Verstappen for fighting with the dominant McLaren
Former world champion Fernando Alonso believes that Max Verstappen has had a good season. The RB21 has been much slower than the McLaren this season. However, the Dutchman has managed to secure four victories and still has a shot at this season’s championship. With the McLaren drivers tripping over themselves in recent races, the Dutchman has closed the gap.
Speaking at the press conference in Austin, Alonso said if Verstappen can close the gap more, he will be the one to watch. He explained, “I think [Verstappen] is four times World Champion. He is one of the best drivers in the history of the sport.
“I think he is able to extract the maximum from the car. When the car is dominant, he can win the Championship and break records.
“And when the car isn’t, he still provides the good lap in Qualifying and in the race. This year, he is fighting against a superior car, the McLaren. If it comes to the last race and they are tight on points, he becomes the man to follow.”
↔️| Verstappen puts the whole picture into perspective:
“We’ve had some nice results which helps everyone, as confidence is high. We are understanding much more what the car can do and how it needs to be driven.”
“I think in general [McLaren] are still strong in the…
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Verstappen was quick to add that McLaren is still strong, especially in medium-speed corners. The four-time world champion needs to beat both rivals in every race to close the gap. He also needs to make major gains on them both. This could be possible with the resurgence of Mercedes, which looked strong in Singapore. If George Russell can take more points from the Papaya cars, then the championship will really heat up.
McLaren wary of Max Verstappen threat
McLaren has led the way since the first race this season in Australia. However, slowly, their rivals looked to have caught up a little, with McLaren not having won a race since the Dutch GP. This has not gone unnoticed by team principal Andrea Stella.
Speaking exclusively to Lawrence Barretto, Stella explained, “Max is Max. Red Bull is Red Bull. We are talking about a super champion, the reigning World Champion for the last four seasons, so in fairness, we have never been naive to say that Verstappen was not in the quest to become the Drivers’ World Champion.
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“This has always been something that was clear to us. [Lando and Oscar] know that if they can extract the best of their potential, they can have very strong weekends, and they can be in control of their own destiny in this quest to become champion.”
McLaren won’t want an outside threat like Max Verstappen joining the title race and gaining points on their drivers. The Woking-based team is already under enough stress with the inter-team battle. Verstappen joining the party will add more concern to the team. As he is far behind, the Dutchman will race the Papaya team hard, possibly leading to clashes. McLaren needs to ensure that it stays top of the pile.
