Ferrari had a brilliant weekend, achieving a one-two finish in the race with Carlos Sainz in second, as well and placing second in the sprint the pervious day. With only 48 points to the championship leaders McLaren, they seem to be perfectly in the running to win the constructors title.
“We’ve got to target winning the Constructor’s Championship,” Leclerc commented in post-race press. Sainz adding, “[getting] so many points for the constructor’s is priority number one.”
Pole-sitter Norris lost out on a podium due to a five second penalty for ‘leaving the track and gaining advantage’ over Max Verstappen. McLaren’s ‘Right of Review’ of the penalty was rejected by the stewards, as Verstappen was found to be ahead at the apex.
The gap between Verstappen and Norris in the Driver’s championship is getting deeper and with only five races left in the season, it’s looking more likely that Max Verstappen will be crowned Champion for the fourth year in a row.
For Norris to pull off the unthinkable, he would need to win all remaining races, with Verstappen finishing consistently below second.
He says, “I think I did the correct thing. But I don’t make the rules.”
Perhaps the most surprising result of the weekend was Haas achieving their best home finish with Hulkenburg crossing the line P8. Haas now moves up into sixth in the Constructor’s overtaking RB. Hulkenburg also places himself in the top 10 in the championship, with 29 points.
George Russell managed to salvage his weekend. Starting from the pit lane due to repair work after his crash in qualifying, he finished P6, putting more points on the board for Mercedes.
Liam Lawson also drove spectacularly - Daniel Riccardo’s replacement at RB going from P19 to P9 – stating his “goal is to be in Formula 1 next year.”
The pressure is on for McLaren in the remaining five races to defend their position from Red Bull and Ferrari whilst also chasing to catch Verstappen in the driver’s championship.
