If any team has demonstrated consistency in recent times, it’s McLaren. The Woking-based outfit has transformed from a car that only performed well on fast tracks with low or medium loads to a strong contender, regardless of the characteristics of each circuit. Their recent results in Miami, Monaco, and Canada, including a second-place finish in each of the latter two, indicate that the MCL38 is a car that exhibits minimal performance fluctuations, regardless of track or temperature changes.
Zak Brown, the former team principal of Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, believes that some factors suggest that the World Championship could be competitive. He notes that the decline of Czech Perez in recent races has been pronounced, making him no longer a championship contender.
“If we look at Red Bull in recent years and Mercedes before that, normally the teams that win the championship are the best at everything,” Brown said. “Not in most things. If you look at Red Bull in recent years, they’ve had the fastest car. They have had the least tire degradation, the best pit stops, the complete package to win on a regular basis.”
Room for Improvement
This season, McLaren has been on the podium consistently since China and has taken its first race victory since 2021. Brown hopes the trend continues. “I think we have two great drivers. Clearly, we have a very fast car, we have very good pit stops, and we also have room for improvement. Our reliability is much stronger… we are knocking on the door. It’s simply about being a little better in all areas,” he said.
Contrary to what Fernando Alonso thinks, there are those who believe that the World Championship will be competitive. A victory in Barcelona, where they experienced a significant improvement in 2023, would propel Norris into a strong position in his championship bid.