Illustration Credit: Charles Horowitz, Getty Images
Will Red Bull lose both championships?
Ianna Martinez Barrientos, Contributor
For the past two years, it felt as if the only national anthems heard during the podium ceremonies were those of the Netherlands and Austria. However, this season took an unexpected turn when two papaya-coloured cars began to catch up, and just as quickly, it felt as if Red Bull might lose both championships to McLaren. But will this actually happen?
Let’s start with the constructors’ championship. It’s no secret that the RB20 car has not been performing well this season and consequently, neither have both its drivers. For example, Sergio Perez has not been on the podium since the Miami Grand Prix, meaning that he is not getting maximum points for Red Bull. With Perez’s performance declining, Red Bull is left with no choice but to rely on their other driver, Max Verstappen, to score points for the whole team. As a result of this, Red Bull has now lost first place in the constructors’ championship to McLaren and if the team continues to struggle for the remaining races, McLaren may very well be holding the constructors’ championship trophy at the end of this season.
On the other hand, the drivers’ championship does look promising for Red Bull. After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Verstappen is in first place with 313 points and Lando Norris is in second with 254 points. This means that Norris needs 59 points to catch up. However small this number may seem, getting to this position may be harder for Norris than we think, especially when taking into consideration the chatter about McLaren not prioritizing him over his teammate, Oscar Piastri, and Ferrari’s new car updates.
Another reason why Verstappen may become a four-time world champion at the end of this season is simply due to Norris’ driving when starting on pole position. Pole positions are given to the driver with the fastest lap during qualifying, which means they are granted to the driver with the fastest car. Throughout his Formula 1 career, Norris has started on pole five times and each time has failed to keep his position during the first lap. Given that McLaren has arguably one of the fastest cars on the grid right now, his inability to maintain pole position during the first lap might just cost him the drivers’ championship. But this is Formula 1 and as we have seen before, anything can happen in the final race!
