Verstappen ready to pounce: McLaren's advantage a matter perfection

14:59, 01 May

byNorberto Mujica

It is an undisputed fact that McLaren have had the best car this season. However, their advantage can only be capitalised when everything is executed to perfection. Something Max Verstappen has taken advantage of.

The margins, nonetheless, continue to be very small in some of the races, putting the pressure on McLaren and its drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, to execute everything to perfection.

"McLaren have the consistently fastest car. We see George (Russell, Mercedes driver, ed.) in qualifying he can do it [close the gap], but it's not quite there in the race," says Karun Chandhok to Sky Sports F1.

"Max (Verstappen, Red Bull driver, ed.) is able to get there at certain tracks, not everywhere. But across different layouts, different conditions, different lengths in qualifying and the race, McLaren is consistently the fastest car and Lando needs to maximise it."

However, the difference between the Mercedes driver and the Red Bull driver, is that when given the opportunity, as it happened in Japan, Russell and Mercedes make mistakes, whereas Verstappen and Red Bull don't.

Max Verstappen leading the field in Suzuka

'Verstappen's one or two extra tenths keep McLaren honest'

In her analysis for Sky Sports, former F1 strategist for Force India and Aston Martin, Bernie Collins, believes that McLaren's advantage can be toppled by Verstappen

"Verstappen is seen as the best driver in F1 but what does that actually mean in numbers? Maybe he can give you one or two tenths of pace per lap at most, but it's almost impossible to put a number on it," says Collins in her analysis for Sky Sports.

"Whatever you think that number is, the gaps between McLaren and the others over one lap are just about close enough for Mercedes and Red Bull to make a difference, if Norris or Piastri don't get everything together."

"So, McLaren have a small advantage, but it requires the team to operate perfectly and the drivers to deliver to claim pole and convert it into victory," concludes Collins.

Lando Norris locking his MCL39's front left in Bahrain

Piastri, Norris and Russell falter where Verstappen excells

Piastri, McLaren's strongest driver overall so far, is still subject to mistakes, albeit not in the same amount or depth as teammate Norris, whose barrage of errors have made him relinquish the championship lead to the young Australian. Norris is quick, but he's unable to make it count consistently when points are up for grabs.

Russell is having a great season so far, but one wonders, did he truly get the most out of his car in Japan? Where McLaren failed to capitalise on their superiority, the Mercedes driver did not take advantage of the opportunity. Was a pole or even a win up for grabs?

Verstappen's case is entirely different. Where Piastri spun in Australia and finished P3 in Japan, and where Norris has failed to make the most out of his faster McLaren since the Sprint race in China, and where Russell fails to capitalise on the mistakes of his rivales, the Dutchman manages to make the most out of the car he drives, whether that's P6 or P1 is an entirely different story, and one that's out of his hands.