Red Bull has been ahead of every team this season while also beating records. This season they have won 12 consecutive races so far, breaking McLaren’s record of 11 wins. Red Bull’s star driver, Max Verstappen, on the other hand, has been dominating the entire season. He has won 9 of the races this season while Perez has won only two.
But with this dominance, there have been a lot of teams wanting to get their hands on the dominant team’s blueprint. Ferrari and Aston Martin were two teams that managed to get really close to the RB19 of Verstappen in the front. With Aston Martin winning podiums and Ferrari overtaking Verstappen. Although they have been quick, they all failed to overtake the Red Bull team.
Recently, McLaren has achieved the “perfect” car to get closer to Red Bull. Ever since their performance at the British GP, they are faster than ever after winning another podium at the Hungarian Grand Prix and leaving Mercedes behind. Although Mercedes stands second to Red Bull in the Constructor’s Championship, Helmut thinks Mercedes is not the second fastest car on the grid.
Helmut Marko impressed by McLaren as they challenge Red Bull
Recently, Helmut Marko contradicted Toto Wolff after claiming that Mercedes is not the fastest car after Red Bull. Instead, it is McLaren that has impressed the Championship-winning team boss. Marko said that the only car that can beat Red Bull at the wet tracks of Spa will be McLaren.
McLaren has taken the 2023 season by storm after their incredible British Grand Prix drive. During the Silverstone race, both McLarens were able to earn a front-grid start for the race. However, during the race, they gave the audience a showstopping start when Lando Norris overtook Max Verstappen in the beginning.
According to Helmut Marko, the reason they might beat RB is because of the downforce. Compared to the newly upgraded Red Bull car, McLaren has much more downforce which will make them stronger in wet conditions. Therefore, the rains can be advantageous to McLaren for the race and get their first win of the season.
Helmut Marko has told Sky Germany that McLaren will be strong if it rains because McLaren have more downforce than Red Bull.
They (RB) rather hope for a dry race.#F1 #BelgianGP
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) July 29, 2023
Although McLaren has been close enough to the challenging RB, they have not successfully beat them at any race. While Red Bull stays far ahead in the season, they seem to have no risks even if McLaren wins a race. The orange team challenged the RB19 again at the Sprint with rookie, Oscar Piastri driving ahead of Max Verstappen. But with Verstappen in the RB19, there is no guarantee for the McLaren team.