SUMMARY
- Max Verstappen, despite his dominant 2023 season, fears McLaren's progress could pose a formidable threat in 2024.
- Verstappen acknowledges McLaren's strong 2023 performance.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull enjoyed one of the most dominating years of their careers in the 2023 season. While the former won the drivers’ championship with a substantial lead and no possibility of defeating him, Verstappen feels threatened. As the highly anticipated 2024 season is around the corner, the Dutchman fears he might not be able to replicate his superiority yet again.
The Austrian team seems to be in command of their performance, but rival teams might pose an immediate danger in the fresh campaign. With three championships to his name already, Verstappen hopes to add another one in 2024, when he clearly has the potential to do so. However, the driver identifies McLaren as a possible opponent and might cause hindrance in his goal.
Max Verstappen eyes McLaren as a threat in the 2024 season
After a relaxed season last year, the 26-year-old believes McLaren’s tremendous progress could make them a formidable rival in 2024. Red Bull has allegedly begun to plan for their 2025 car, as revealed by their Head of Performance Engineer, while McLaren intends to keep up its upward trajectory from the 2023 season.
🗣️ Max Verstappen: “The one I think that was most impressive behind us from where they started to where they ended was definitely McLaren. It looks like they might be very strong next year.” 👀
[via: Talking Bull Podcast] #F1 #Formula1 #McLaren pic.twitter.com/1EOUUNmMpa
— McLaren F1 Updates 🏴🇦🇺 (@TheMcLarenZone) January 5, 2024
Despite being the reigning world champion, Verstappen said, “We were the only team that was really consistent. Behind us, it was really up and down. One team [was] second, then another team…That’s where the battle was quite close behind us…The one I think was most impressive behind us – from where they started to where they ended – was definitely McLaren.”
He further stated, “It looks like they might be very strong next year.” After the opening rounds, the Dutch driver’s advancement was almost a formality due to his overwhelming lead, which raised no doubts about his title claim. Nonetheless, this year is anticipated to provide greater challenges for Red Bull.
McLaren’s latest signings spark concern for the 3x champion
With the two big technological choices, McLaren has officially launched the partnership ahead of the extensive 2024 Formula 1 season. They welcomed David Sanchez and Rob Marshall on board in a significant overhaul within the squad. With that shift, James Key was let go and Sanchez, a former Ferrari engineer, was brought in.
McLaren fans, join me in welcoming David Sanchez and Rob Marshall to our already experienced and talented Technical Leadership Team. Mega! Let’s get to work! 👊 pic.twitter.com/ggfUAEXG7q
— Zak Brown (@ZBrownCEO) January 10, 2024
The Woking-based company looks forward to Sanchez’s initiatives in leading its technical division. Since, McLaren surprised all with their performance turnaround, these new changes can only add up to Max Verstappen’s concerns. Team principal, Christian Horner has also revealed the very powerful RB19 retained most of its components from the previous cars, making it a big gamble from their end.
On the other hand, Marshall brings a plethora of expertise to McLaren from his incredible 17-year stint at Red Bull, where he served as the Chief Engineering Officer. This scenario within the papaya team might be an additional issue for Red Bull and their star driver to assert their dominance for yet another season.