McLaren team principal Andrea Stella believes Max Verstappen's
performance over the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend underlined his
belief that the Red Bull driver is firmly in contention for this
season's F1 drivers' championship. Stella was left in no doubt
about that after witnessing Verstappen clinch back-to-back pole
positions around the Baku City Circuit on Saturday, taking his
tally to six overall for the season, more than either of his
drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Even though Verstappen
went into the race 94 points adrift of Piastri in the standings,
the Dutchman added an exclamation point to the "capital letters"
Stella had stated he wanted to use on the word "yes" when asked
after qualifying whether he felt the four-time F1 champion was
still in contention. Verstappen claimed the sixth grand slam of his
career on Sunday, adding fastest lap and leading every lap en route
to winning the race, to the pole, to close the gap on Piastri to 69
points with 199 still available from the remaining seven races and
three sprints. Suggested to Stella that people might believe him
now, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365 , he said:
"Well, I used the capital letters already. I said 'yes' in capital
letters. This just confirms it. "We're talking about Max
Verstappen, we're talking about Red Bull. We saw in Monza that they
improved, that they seemed to have made an improvement with their
car. "The way they won at Monza, from our assessment, was something
more than simply a car that adapts well at low drag. They were fast
in the corners, medium-speed and low-speed corners, and fast in the
straights. "And we know that Max, when he has a competitive car,
can deliver strong weekends." Verstappen's pursuit of a fifth title
was aided on Sunday by Piastri crashing out on the opening lap, and
Norris finishing seventh, leaving the Briton 25 points behind his
team-mate, and 44 ahead of the Dutchman. Stella feels the next race
in Singapore should suit the MCL38 more than Baku, in particular.
"We knew Baku would be a difficult circuit for us, so we will see
now in Singapore, which is a track on which we should perform
well," he assessed. "Hopefully, we can go back to fighting for
victories, and then we will see how the rest of the championship
will unfold. "But definitely, Max is in contention for the drivers'
championship. We knew it, and we got confirmation."
performance over the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend underlined his
belief that the Red Bull driver is firmly in contention for this
season's F1 drivers' championship. Stella was left in no doubt
about that after witnessing Verstappen clinch back-to-back pole
positions around the Baku City Circuit on Saturday, taking his
tally to six overall for the season, more than either of his
drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Even though Verstappen
went into the race 94 points adrift of Piastri in the standings,
the Dutchman added an exclamation point to the "capital letters"
Stella had stated he wanted to use on the word "yes" when asked
after qualifying whether he felt the four-time F1 champion was
still in contention. Verstappen claimed the sixth grand slam of his
career on Sunday, adding fastest lap and leading every lap en route
to winning the race, to the pole, to close the gap on Piastri to 69
points with 199 still available from the remaining seven races and
three sprints. Suggested to Stella that people might believe him
now, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365 , he said:
"Well, I used the capital letters already. I said 'yes' in capital
letters. This just confirms it. "We're talking about Max
Verstappen, we're talking about Red Bull. We saw in Monza that they
improved, that they seemed to have made an improvement with their
car. "The way they won at Monza, from our assessment, was something
more than simply a car that adapts well at low drag. They were fast
in the corners, medium-speed and low-speed corners, and fast in the
straights. "And we know that Max, when he has a competitive car,
can deliver strong weekends." Verstappen's pursuit of a fifth title
was aided on Sunday by Piastri crashing out on the opening lap, and
Norris finishing seventh, leaving the Briton 25 points behind his
team-mate, and 44 ahead of the Dutchman. Stella feels the next race
in Singapore should suit the MCL38 more than Baku, in particular.
"We knew Baku would be a difficult circuit for us, so we will see
now in Singapore, which is a track on which we should perform
well," he assessed. "Hopefully, we can go back to fighting for
victories, and then we will see how the rest of the championship
will unfold. "But definitely, Max is in contention for the drivers'
championship. We knew it, and we got confirmation."
The post McLaren belief in Max Verstappen proven correct: 'This confirms it' appeared first on RacingNews365.