Red Bull told they are 'lucky' about McLaren pace

Sam Cook
Wednesday 11 October 2023 21:12

Aston Martin ambassador Jessica Hawkins has said that Red Bull are 'lucky' McLaren's 2023 resurgence didn't happen sooner.

The papaya team have been transformed in the second half of the season, backed up by the fact they have now achieved two double-podium finishes in a row.

Their turnaround has been such that they only scored 17 points in the first eight races of the season, but have since scored a further 202 in the following nine races.

They are now just 11 points behind Aston Martin in the constructors' standings, and 79 behind third-placed Ferrari.

Red Bull, on the other hand, have wrapped up both the constructors' title and the drivers' championship with Max Verstappen, with five races still left in the season.

Red Bull 'lucky'

McLaren have established themselves as Red Bull's main threat in recent races, and Oscar Piastri's victory in the sprint race was just the second time this season that the dominant Bull's of Verstappen and Sergio Perez have been beaten in a race of any kind.

This team delivers AGAIN! 💪🧡#QatarGP 🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/KhLoRuzyVT

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 8, 2023

In fact, had the season started in Austria, McLaren would currently be second in the championship which shows the progression they have had from the first race of the season where they were one of the slowest cars on the track.

“I think that actually Red Bull are quite lucky that it’s taken McLaren this long, Hawkins told the F1 Nation podcast.

"Because at the moment McLaren are doing a very, very good job. They’re quickly catching us [Aston Martin] as well, which isn’t great, but we will keep pushing.”

READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Verstappen setup quirk which allows Red Bull to make car even faster