Lando Norris identified as Max Verstappen's 'most consistent challenger' by Red Bull ahead of Austrian GP

Verstappen and Norris have finished in the top two positions in five of the last six Grands Prix.

Although the reigning champion won five of those races to Norris's one, the McLaren driver finished on the tail of the Red Bull driver at Imola, Montreal and, last Sunday, Barcelona, ​​suggesting he could yet prove a real title threat for Verstappen during the season. 14 races remaining in the record-length 2024 season.

Norris' final second place finish in Spain moved him ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc into a career-best second place in the drivers' championship, with the 24-year-old trailing Verstappen by 69 points.

And reflecting on his driver's narrow two-second victory over Norris at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said: “If Lando had a track position he would have been hard to beat them.

“It was so close between the two of them and they were 18 seconds ahead of the others.

“I would say Lando stood out as the most consistent challenger. »

Talk to Sky Sports News, Horner added: “We have had four pole sitters in the last four races. It's very, very tight.

“But Lando, I would say he seems to have worked on these tires, McLaren have done a great job as well and they are going to push us hard for the rest of the year.”

Norris, who won his first Grand Prix in early May at the Miami GP, has now finished second in races 10 times – nine times as runner-up behind Verstappen – since McLaren introduced its transformative upgrade to its car at from last year's Austrian GP.

A lap of the Red Bull Ring takes just over 60 seconds and Horner said ahead of this weekend's Sprint event: “On such a short lap it's going to be so close and we expect McLaren and Lando are fast again.

“Ferrari and Mercedes? Who knows. If you look at the gap with these two drivers after the race, it is quite similar to last year. The one who took the lead was Lando.”

Indeed, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff – whose improving team finished third and fourth at Barcelona ahead of Ferrari – admitted that Red Bull and McLaren are currently a step ahead of the pack.

“The McLaren was very fast (in Spain). How fast, I don’t know, I think Max always has a little bit in his pocket and you see that makes a difference,” Wolff said.

“But there's certainly not much between those two at the moment and they're definitely the benchmark.”

Is Norris a real title threat to Verstappen?

Although Norris' championship deficit to Verstappen has widened by 13 points over the last two races despite McLaren's chances of winning both – with the Dutchman now enjoying a season-record lead at the top of the standings with these 69 points – that could still change. quickly if the McLaren driver manages to convert the ever-increasing pace of his car into a series of victories given the number of points still up for grabs this season (396).

This weekend's Sprint event in Austria, which features a 100km race on Saturday in addition to the main grand prix on Sunday, offers an extra eight points compared to the majority of events.

Asked about his title chances after Spain, Norris said: “We should have taken a few points back from Max. Potentially, there was a chance to beat him in Canada. So two races where I finished second and he won

“But Max has to stop winning to do that. Yeah, even if I came second in the championship, it doesn't matter. I didn't care if I was second or 10th.

“It's more about the gap from what Max is and he's expanding it further right now and that's something we can't afford to do or we can't afford to let him get away with it at this point in the season.

“But we can do it. You know, if I had made better decisions in Canada and had a better start (Sunday), we could have won two races. And I know there's a lot, and there's always been a lot of “shoulda, woulda, coulda,” but we have what it takes. It's just about putting it all together.

“Red Bull knows where to improve”

Norris won a thrilling qualifying duel with Verstappen to claim only his second career pole position in Spain, but then almost immediately lost that advantage early in the race when he dropped from first to third behind his winning rival and a fast-starting George Russell at the first corner.

After losing crucial track position, McLaren then extended Norris' first two stints from the Red Bull, with the Englishman returning to Verstappen with the pace each time on fresher tires following his pit stops before to run out of laps to attempt an overtake at the end of the race.

“McLaren certainly looks fast at the end of stints, which we've seen in a few races now,” noted Horner.

“So their degradation seems good. But this is somewhat offset by strategy and overlap in tire life.

“We had enough to get the job done and this is the seventh win in our 10 races. Four of them have been very tough but, again, the team is working at a level where we continue to deliver on the pit stops, strategy and so on. but Max once again demonstrated why he is the world champion – in the key moments he delivers.

Horner added: “He’s fantastic under pressure, he’s always been fantastic. Last year was a unicorn year, now it's a more normal year. It's not normal to win all the races, all the time, and we have to fight very, very hard for them and Max makes the difference.

“But we know where we need to improve. We have a better understanding of where our strengths and weaknesses lie and we are doing enough right now to continue to increase our lead in the championship.

Austrian GP schedule live from Sky Sports F1

Thursday June 27
12:30 p.m.: Drivers’ Press Conference

Friday June 28
7:50 a.m.: F3 training
9 a.m.: F2 training
11:00 a.m.: Austrian GP Practice One (session starts at 11:30 a.m.)
12:55 p.m.: F3 qualifying
1:50 p.m.: F2 qualifying
3:00 p.m.: Austrian GP sprint qualifying (session starts at 3:30 p.m.)*

Saturday June 29
8:25 a.m.: F3 Sprint
10am: Austrian GP Sprint (race starts at 11am)*
12:25 p.m.: F2 Sprint
2:00 p.m.: preparation for qualifying for the Austrian GP
3:00 p.m.: Austrian GP qualifying
5 p.m.: Ted’s qualification log

Sunday June 30
7:25 a.m.: F3 featured race
8:55 a.m.: F2 featured race
12:30 p.m.: Grand Prix Sunday: preparation for the Austrian GP*
2:00 p.m.: The AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX*
4 p.m.: Checkered flag: reaction from the Austrian GP*
5 p.m.: Ted's Notebook

*also live on Sky Sports Main Event

F1's triple bill continues at next week's Austrian Grand Prix – with the Sprint format returning to the Red Bull Ring. Watch every session live on Sky Sports F1, with the big race on Sunday at 2pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month subscription – No contracts, cancel anytime