LONDON. – McLaren’s Lando Norris said he was optimistic Formula One champions Red Bull and Max Verstappen could be beaten this season but doing it repeatedly would be another matter.
Red Bull won 21 of 22 races last year in the most dominant of championships, with only Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz denying them a clean sweep, and triple world champion Verstappen triumphant a record 19 times.
Norris finished second six times and third once with teammate Oscar Piastri also runner-up in Qatar–where the Australian won the sprint race–as McLaren ended the season strongly after a slow start.
The drivers were asked, after giving the new MCL38 car its first laps at a damp Silverstone on Wednesday, about their chances against Red Bull.
Aston Martin’s technical director Dan Fallows had said earlier in the week that he considered Red Bull to be ‘absolutely beatable’ and the McLaren drivers agreed. — Reuters
