Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc were often Red Bull’s closest threats in 2023, but one member of the team believes that they both have one significant weakness.
Helmut Marko has claimed that Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc have both shown ‘weakness’ in terms of their consistency and that this will hold them back in a shootout against Max Verstappen for the World Championship.
Leclerc and Norris ended last season in P5 and P6 in the Drivers’ Championship respectively, but those positions don’t accurately represent their performance level throughout the year. The Ferrari driver claimed an impressive five pole positions – second only to Verstappen – while the McLaren star enjoyed a breakthrough campaign.
After McLaren’s development trajectory took a giant leap heading into the summer leg of the season, Norris struck a rich vein of form, registering seven podiums – including six P2 finishes – during the space of the final 13 Grands Prix. These performances helped his team rise to fourth in the Constructors’ Championship standings.
Speaking to F1-Insider about Verstappen’s rivals for 2024, Marko said: “Leclerc and Norris are certainly exceptional talents. But both have shown weaknesses in consistency in the past. What’s more, Max is not yet at the limit. He will get even better. It’s our job to provide him with a car as good as the one he had in 2023. Then he will be the benchmark again.”
If Marko’s assessment proves correct and Verstappen does indeed have another gear to step into then this will be worrying for the rest of the grid. The 26-year-old heads into the 2024 campaign off the back of one of the most dominant seasons in F1 history.
Max Verstappen won 19 of the 22 Grands Prix during the 2023 campaign, including all but one of the races after his team-mate Sergio Perez took his second and final win of the season in Azerbaijan during round four of the World Championship. The result of this was an unprecedented title-winning margin of 290 points.
The good news keeps rolling for Verstappen too. Red Bull simulator driver Jake Dennis recently revealed his early thoughts about the team’s 2024 challenger, telling The Mirror: “We’ve got an extremely fast race car again at the Red Bull team.
“I would expect us to become champions again unless someone like Ferrari or Mercedes somehow manages to find about a second [per lap] overnight. I think it’s going to be quite a dull season in Formula One with Max probably dominating.”
