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Helmut Marko claims Lando Norris ‘not a threat’ to Max Verstappen’s for 2024 title challenge

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Geetansh Pasricha | Last updated 5/11/24

Against all odds, Lando Norris took the win in Miami against the might of Max Verstappen and the Red Bull. His brilliant performance led to experts claiming that the Brit is a contender for the championship battle against the Dutchman, and the Austrian giant now has a team to worry about. This prediction did not go well with Helmut Marko , who dismissed any claims of the Englishman fighting for the championship later on.

McLaren brought several upgrades to the MCL38 during the Miami GP weekend expecting the car to be more balanced against the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari. However, the weekend started against the expectations of the English team as Lando Norris was taken out on the first lap of the Sprint. This left the burden on the race on Sunday to save the Woking-based outfit’s weekend.

Moreover, the weekend was indeed saved as the Brit stormed to victory, while Max Verstappen finished runners-up.

[Lando]Norris will now be even more dangerous for Verstappen because he will no longer have the pressure of not having won a race yet. I don't consider him a threat for the World Cup, though, because he is over 50 points away. Helmut Marko said in an interview with OE24.

Subsequently, experts deemed the Brit to be the contender for the championship going forward. However, this did not fall in line with Helmut Marko, who admitted that Norris would be a more potent rival than others throughout the 2024 season. But he is still more than 50 points away, and such a huge gap would be unsurmountable for the McLaren driver.

Red Bull is given a wake-up call

Despite being relaxed that the 26-year-old would dominate the upcoming weekends, the Austrian is convinced that Red Bull now needs to ramp up their development to save itself from any one-offs from happening again. Moreover, with Ferrari and McLaren chipping away at the victories, Marko fears that their lead in development might not taper off by the end of the season.

Marko admitted that Miami gave them a glimpse of what would happen if they did not stay on course.

Miami shows that we need to focus on this world championship. At Imola we will bring an update from which I expect a lot. Helmut Marko said in an interview with OE24

The 80-year-old claimed that with the worrying performance in Miami, Red Bull would bring upgrades to Imola. This would ensure that the Austrian giant would have ample of advantage over others and claim victory again on the Italian turf. Apart from this, the prancing horses would also bring a set of upgrades at Imola. This could shuffle up the field quite a bit and could throw the race into a free-for-all at their home track.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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