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Former F1 driver Rene Arnoux claimed that Lando Norris can challenge Max Verstappen for the World Championship if he fixes his race starts. He added that McLaren will have to play the team game for Norris to win.
McLaren has managed to develop the fastest car on the grid, competing directly with Red Bull in the World Championship. While the team took the lead in the Constructors' standings after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, it is quite a gap for Lando Norris to cover between himself and Max Verstappen to win his first World Championship. The current gap between the two is 52 points with six races remaining in the season.
The target is statistically achievable, as former F1 driver Rene Arnoux said. However, he feels that Norris would need to fix his race starts and remain in the lead.
"Mind you, 52 points is a lot, but the way he is going and the way his McLaren is, a comeback is possible," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "On one condition, though: that he learns how to start. Because there’s no point in taking pole if you start badly and lose three or four positions. And then it will be necessary to see the team’s strategy: if Piastri will race for himself, it will become much harder for Lando, given that the only way he can make it is to always get, at each grand prix, the maximum points or a little less."
He added that reliability issues or grid penalties could also play a major role in the change of the championship lead.
"And if Oscar gets in the way… Another factor to take into account is reliability: not in terms of my times, now the cars don’t break down anymore, but the health and durability of the components."
"Penalties of ten grid positions, for power unit or gearbox replacements, can become very heavy in the economy of the fight between the two trying to win the championship."
"I’ve been doing a good job": Lando Norris reflects on upcoming F1 US Grand Prix
The McLaren driver has a positive approach heading towards the first Americas triple-header in Austin. This is set to be a Sprint weekend, meaning there will be only one free practice session. So, getting the car's setup correct will be a major challenge for the drivers.
Discussing the prospects of his championship status changing in the Americas, Lando Norris mentioned that the past few race weekends have been positive for the team. He is seemingly optimistic for the race at the Circuit of the Americas.
"I think we’ve seen it for the last five, six weekends," Norris said. "People ask every weekend if this is a weekend that’s going to change something. It can go my way, it can go Max’s way. I keep focused on doing what I’m doing, I’ve been doing a good job."
It is estimated that Verstappen only needs to finish in second place for the remainder of the season to claim his fourth consecutive World Championship. Meanwhile, for Norris, winning remains the most important part of battling the Red Bull driver.
