A new leader
After the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, there was a change at the top of the Formula 1 World Championship. Lando Norris, who had been leading the championship since the first round in Australia, was replaced by Oscar Piastri, his teammate, who won three of the last four races. For the Melbourne talent, this is the first time in his career at the top of the championship, and there is curiosity to see if this will be the first of many weeks as leader for #81.
Among those observing Piastri’s rise is his rival, Red Bull, who hopes to retain the Drivers’ Championship title with Max Verstappen. Regarding the excellent results achieved by the McLaren Australian in these early races, Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s long-time advisor, shared his thoughts in an editorial on Speedweek.com after each Grand Prix.
Helmut Marko’s doubts
Commenting on the Jeddah race, Marko wondered whether Oscar Piastri would indeed be able to maintain this level of performance race after race until the end of the championship. “Piastri has taken the lead in the championship for the first time in his career and is establishing himself as the main rival with performances like those of the previous races,” Marko wrote. “However, it remains to be seen if Oscar can maintain this level of performance throughout the season. Last year, there were some circuits where the Australian was slightly or significantly behind Lando Norris.”
Marko’s hope, of course, is that the McLaren drivers start taking points away from each other. Additionally, in Jeddah, the RB21 finally seemed more competitive: “After the tough weekend in Bahrain, the team felt a great sense of relief for how things went in Jeddah. This competitiveness was also a bit of a surprise for us. We didn’t expect to be faster than McLaren in terms of pace. And certainly, it didn’t seem possible on Friday.”
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