Red Bull and Verstappen warned: 'We have a shot at the title'

With an 84-point lead over Lando Norris, Max Verstappen firmly holds the championship lead among drivers. Among constructors, his team Red Bull Racing is in the lead, but with two drivers able to score points every Grand Prix weekend, a margin of 71 points is relatively easy to make up. Given the form of Sergio Perez, Red Bull's second driver, it is not inconceivable that Red Bull could be caught up.

Although Ferrari is currently in second position among constructors, the difference to McLaren is barely seven points. Given the excellent form that McLaren is in and Ferrari is not, it seems a matter of time before the British overtake the Scuderia. The next step will then be to further attack Verstappen's Red Bull.

"We're just trying to do the best we can every weekend," said Zak Brown, McLaren's CEO. "I don't know if I would describe our chance at winning the Constructors strong, but I think there's clearly a chance there. If we continue with the points we've been picking up the last five, six races, then we would close that gap by the end of the year. But you just got to do that one race at a time, as does Lando."

Meanwhile, Red Bull also seems aware that more points need to be taken by the team if it wants to stay ahead of McLaren in the end. Perez reportedly has two more races to show he can do better than in recent months, or the Mexican risks being replaced by a driver who does score points steadily.

This article was written in collaboration with Sophia Crothall.