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For much of the season, it looked like Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were set for a two-way fight for the world championship. But in recent weeks, their lead has shrunk dramatically — and Max Verstappen has closed the gap. Still, according to David Croft, McLaren isn’t panicking just yet.
McLaren’s dominance fading
Earlier in the year, McLaren appeared untouchable. The team was comfortably ahead of its rivals and had only been beaten three times all season. Several tracks were even labelled as “McLaren circuits.” Yet that dominance has faded. Verstappen has now won three of the last five Grands Prix, and with Red Bull’s resurgence, the pressure on McLaren is intensifying.
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Sky Sports commentator David Croft noticed that things have become more complicated for the Woking-based team. Speaking on The F1 Show podcast, he shared a brief exchange he had with McLaren team principal Andrea Stella after the race in Austin.
“We had a short chat, and he said: ‘Look, we left a lot of time in the garage.’ He was pointing at all kinds of tools — it was his way of suggesting they couldn’t run the car as low and aggressively as they wanted,” Croft explained.
Which races worry McLaren most?
Croft also asked Stella which of the upcoming races might prove tricky. “I said: ‘How do the next weekends look?’ He replied: ‘Mexico and Brazil, if it’s dry, should be good for us. We’re not too worried about Qatar and Abu Dhabi — those are our circuits. Vegas, though… that’s a tricky one. We struggled there last year, but we think we’ve found something.’”
According to Croft, Stella remains calm and confident despite the growing pressure. “He’s not panicking at all. They think they’ve learned from last year — in the final stint, Lando found something that really brought the car to life. That’s what they’re building on.”
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