Red Bull make alarming Max Verstappen admission as Lando Norris in a ‘whole new world’
Helmut Marko has provided a concerning assessment of the difference between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen at the Singapore Grand Prix, labelling the McLaren driver’s pace as ‘alien’ and confessing that his star driver couldn’t have got near the Brit, even if the RB20 was ‘optimised’.
Norris crossed the line in Singapore over 20 seconds ahead of Verstappen, and in truth that margin could have been closer to 30 and beyond if the Brit hadn’t eased off during his final stint to bring the MCL38 over the line.
Only Daniel Ricciardo’s final-lap heroics stripped Norris of the fastest lap point and a first-career Grand Chelem. Verstappen was classified in second place – a strong result in isolation, but the gap to his title rival was alarming, to say the least.
The two championship protagonists are now separated by 52 points with six events remaining in 2024, setting up a grandstand finale with the current rate of scoring trending towards a winner-takes-all shootout in Abu Dhabi, not too dissimilar to 2021.
Speaking to Motorsport.com about the gap between the duo in Singapore, Marko said: “Well, that Lando’s dominance is alien, especially on medium tyres – he took nine-tenths to one second per lap from us. Even if our car had been, let’s say, optimised, he couldn’t have driven those times on the medium. And we’re all wondering how he did it.
Speaking to Motorsport.com about the gap between the duo in Singapore, Marko said: “Well, that Lando’s dominance is alien, especially on medium tyres – he took nine-tenths to one second per lap from us. Even if our car had been, let’s say, optimised, he couldn’t have driven those times on the medium. And we’re all wondering how he did it.
Speaking to Motorsport.com about the gap between the duo in Singapore, Marko said: “Well, that Lando’s dominance is alien, especially on medium tyres – he took nine-tenths to one second per lap from us. Even if our car had been, let’s say, optimised, he couldn’t have driven those times on the medium. And we’re all wondering how he did it.