Lando Norris is closing on George Russell. The McLaren driver has taken pole at the last two rounds and won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on 23 August, cutting his gap to the second-placed Russell to 24 points. In Russell’s own reading, this could be the moment his Mercedes package stops keeping pace.
Russell said after the Dutch race that Mercedes have fallen out of step with Ferrari and McLaren on upgrades, and that the next two or three race weekends are where the damage could be done.
“I think these coming two or three race weekends will be a challenge for us both, purely because we’re out of sync with the upgrades.”
“We’ve got these upgrades coming. We’ve got to hope that they work. It only takes one issue with an upgrade and it doesn’t work as you expect, and before you know it, you’re not fighting week in, week out, and there can be big points missed.”
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The title picture behind the warning
Mercedes still lead the constructors’ championship on 425 points, 87 clear of Ferrari, with McLaren third on 263. The drivers’ fight is closer than the team standings suggest. In the drivers’ championship, Kimi Antonelli leads on 242, his Mercedes teammate Russell is second on 183, tied with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, and Norris trails Russell by 24.
Asked which team he sees as the immediate threat, Russell pointed at McLaren.
“I think they are the team to beat right now.”
“There is a long way to go. I think the Ferrari is looking great. Lando’s been on pole for the last two races as well, so you can’t count anybody out.”
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Monza runs from Friday
The Italian Grand Prix is at Autodromo Nazionale Monza from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 September. First practice starts at 12:30pm local time on Friday, qualifying is at 4pm local time on Saturday, and the 53-lap race gets under way at 3pm local time on Sunday.
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