Following an exhilarating Azerbaijan Grand Prix, it seems that almost half the Formula One subject now has the potential to clinch victories.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown, whose driver Lando Norris is Max Verstappen’s fiercest title rival, declares it probably the most thrilling F1 motion he is witnessed in his eight years within the sport.
In the previous eight races, there have been six completely different winners from 4 completely different groups. Although Verstappen, who set information along with his dominance in 2022 and 2023, nonetheless leads the standings, his most up-to-date win was in June.
“I think this is the best season I can remember in Formula One since I’ve been here,” Brown informed The Associated Press (AP) from the IndyCar season finale at Nashville Superspeedway in Tennessee.
Could it even be higher than the 2021 battle between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, which was selected the ultimate lap of the yr and helped gasoline F1’s Netflix increase? Brown thinks it is perhaps.
“That was mega exciting, but it was just two guys, two good guys. Now you’ve got four good teams in today’s race,” he stated.
“To have four teams that can win any weekend, and (Sergio) Perez was obviously back on form today, eight drivers going into Singapore and we’re saying, ‘I don’t know which of these four teams might win. I don’t know which of these eight drivers might win,’ I can’t recall Formula One having that level of competitiveness.”
Sunday’s race was continuous motion.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took the win in Baku, however solely after a daring overtake on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Perez was within the combine for Red Bull till he and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. collided, handing third to Mercedes driver George Russell.
Further again, Norris surged via the sphere from fifteenth on the grid to complete fourth forward of Verstappen and lower additional into the champion’s standings lead.
Teams’ performances fluctuate week by week, relying on upgrades from the factories, observe situations and setup adjustments, just like the one Verstappen blamed for ruining his weekend in Azerbaijan.
Even a change of tires can flip an also-ran right into a contender, Russell stated Sunday.
“Just in this one race, we had a car that could have won if you took the pace from half of the race and a car that should have been outside the top 10 from the other half,” he stated, including, “So I hope we’ve got the faster version for next week’s race in Singapore.”
The Singapore road circuit hosted one of the crucial aggressive races of an in any other case Red Bull-dominated 2023 season. On worn tires, Sainz held off Norris’ McLaren and the 2 Mercedes of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and Russell, who crashed from third on the final lap.
Piastri is F1’s on-form driver with probably the most factors of anybody within the final seven races. He is aware of simply what number of transferring components are concerned in success this yr and the way shortly it may all change.
“We’ve been in with a chance everywhere, and I think today was definitely one of those days where we weren’t necessarily the quickest, but we had a car that could put us in the fight,” the Australian stated.
“We had a pit stop that could put us in the fight. We had some teamwork that put us in the fight. And it all managed to pay off.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com