Red Bull F1 News: Champions fired major warning by 'incredibly quick' rivals

Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, 2024, Photoshop, Social — Photo: © IMAGO

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Red Bull fired major warning by 'incredibly quick' F1 rivals

One major rival believes they have the right car to bring the fight to the championship leaders

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 15 July 2024 19:57

Red Bull's F1 rivals, McLaren, have warned the champions that they have what it takes to bring the fight to the previously indomitable team.

Having dominated Formula 1 over the past couple of seasons, Red Bull now face stiffer competition, with Max Verstappen being beaten to the top spot by five different drivers so far in 2024. F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen wants SHOCK Ricciardo reunion as ex-team boss claims Perez could leave Red Bull

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One such driver was Lando Norris, who claimed his maiden grand prix victory in Miami with McLaren.

His team-mate Oscar Piastri has come close to a win, leading the British Grand Prix temporarily last time out before the team's pit stop strategy sacrificed his chances.

Max Verstappen faces tough competition as team-mate Sergio Perez underperforms

Oscar Piastri has won a Sprint race, but is yet to achieve a grand prix win

Can McLaren beat Red Bull?

Despite past mistakes, Piastri remains positive about future performance: "I think the kind of good thing but kind of bad thing is it's never been the same thing that's prevented us from winning" he said (via RacingNews365).

"Obviously in Silverstone we made a wrong call," the 23-year-old continued. "In Imola we had an issue in qualifying with traffic. Austria, the less said about qualifying in Austria, the better.

McLaren will expect both drivers to perform in the race to catch Red Bull

"So I guess it's a good thing that it's not been a repeated error or mistake. I feel like there's been a good handful now, I think on both sides of the garage, where we felt like we could have won the race.

"I think we've got the hardest part nailed, we've got an incredibly quick car. We just need to capitalise on using it."

Verstappen still leads the drivers' championship, 84 points ahead of Norris, but the focus for McLaren remains on both drivers as they chase Ferrari and Red Bull in the constructors' standings.

Red Bull Max Verstappen McLaren Formula 1 Lando Norris Oscar Piastri