By Hugo Verden
As we head to Italy this weekend for the Emilia-Romagna GP the Formula One world is alight with questions. After Lando Norris took his maiden win for McLaren on his 110th Grand Prix entry in Miami last time out, the first time anyone has defeated Max Verstappen in a race he finished since Singapore last year, everyone is asking if McLaren can take the fight to Red Bull in front of the Italian crowd and for the rest of the season.
But it’s not just McLaren that should be quick next weekend, both Ferrari and the reigning world champions Red bull are bringing upgrades to the track. Verstappen was also suffering from floor damage in the Miami Grand Prix after hitting the bollard at the “micky mouse chicane” So we might not have a championship battle on our hands just yet, however the fight should really heat up in the constructers battle for 2nd place. The McLaren looked to be the faster car throughout the race, with Norris’ race winning car often the quickest on the circuit and teammate Oscar Piastri in half upgraded machinery fighting with the Ferrari’s until he collided with Carlos Sainz, giving him damage and taking him out of the points.
Despite this Ferrari bring major upgrades to race in front of their home crowd that should bridge the gap that McLaren had formed but we won’t really know until the cars hit the track for competitive sessions. The track seems to suit the McLaren’s strength of medium to high speed corners and the recent race win will encourage the team and their fans heading into the weekend. Despite these upgrades, Verstappen in the Red Bull will probably a bit too far ahead with high ranking officials within the team such as Helmut Marko saying that they “are also bringing upgrades to Imola that [he] expects a lot from” Looking further back down the field, Mercedes are also bringing upgrades to the race but not many are expecting anything close to the performance of the top three teams. This race is a question mark that could dictate the rest of the season, but time will tell who is on the pace and if we could see some fighting at the front of the field.