McLaren warned it's 'now or never' for Lando Norris in Max Verstappen battle
McLaren have been told to get their act together if they want to win the Drivers' Championship.
Lando Norris and McLaren have been told it’s ‘now or never’ if they wish to end Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s stranglehold on the Formula One Drivers’ Championship title.
With three months of the season left to race, McLaren find themselves - perhaps surprisingly - in a title tussle at the top of the drivers’ standings.
Just 62 points separate Verstappen in first and British driver Norris, who has made the podium in four of his last five Grand Prix outings.
By contrast, Verstappen has endured somewhat of a dry spell, at least by his standards, with the Dutchman having gone six races without a win and only managing only one podium finish in the last four.
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It’s set things up nicely heading into the back straight of the 2024 season, but former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde believes McLaren have to make the most of the Red Bull slump while they can and prioritise Norris over his team-mate Oscar Piastri.
Speaking to RacingNews365 about McLaren’s racing strategy, the one-time Sauber driver said: "It's very simple. Then you have to say to your first driver: he can go for the championship and next year is a new round, new chances.
“And they haven't done that yet and because of that they have lost quite a few points. And that is of course to the advantage of Max Verstappen…
"They have super speed now and there are a few GPs coming up where the car will perform incredibly well. Then you have to, it's now or never."
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However, if Norris is to fulfil his potential and be crowned world champion, the 24-year-old will have to cut out the mistakes that cost him the chance to top the podium at the Italian GP.
On Norris’ carelessness, Van der Garde added: "They [McLaren] let those guys race and that's good, it just went too far. Piastri really went deep, Norris had to let off his brakes and had to go deep too.
“And you almost saw him spin and had a mega oversteer moment. I think it's important that they decide internally who has the best chance of winning the championship and that this needs to be discussed properly.
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“Because honestly: if Norris had taken the lead on lap one, he would have won that race."
And on Piastri’s performance at the Italian GP, he continued: "He is of course a racer and he did that fantastically. It is his right, but you also have to look at the interests of the team.
“They did not discuss that internally and then you get things like this. He sees the opportunity, puts the car next to him, brakes late and when he is in the corner in front, you have to let him go. And he did that well and we have seen that before. Piastri still has the racing instinct."
