Red Bull were left "amazed" as Lando Norris emerged as the unexpected rival to Max Verstappen during his triumph at the Chinese Grand Prix.
The energy drink-backed team has been a powerhouse in Formula 1, consistently leading the pack. However, the battle for supremacy behind them has been anything but predictable, with the pecking order shifting frequently throughout the previous season. This year has seen a bit more consistency, with Ferrari establishing themselves as the primary challengers early on, while McLaren holds a solid third place. Mercedes, surprisingly only the fourth quickest, is feeling the heat from their customer team Aston Martin.
Yet, it was in Shanghai where Ferrari's pace faltered, allowing Norris to claim an impressive second place, surpassing both Ferrari drivers and Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez. Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko shared his astonishment in his Speedweek column. Marko noted: "Behind Red Bull Racing we experience ups and downs between the pursuers. That pleases me. Because that means that our lead increases if someone else constantly finishes behind us.", reports the Mirror.
"In China we were amazed that this time Lando Norris was the second force with McLaren. We expected Ferrari to be stronger. But neither in the long runs nor in qualifying nor in the races were they able to get close to the top three."
Helmut Marko has singled out Lando Norris as the standout non-Red Bull driver on the F1 grid, excluding his own team's drivers. He said: "If we ignore the Red Bull drivers for a moment, Lando Norris makes a great impression of the other drivers, who has a clearer grip on Oscar Piastri at McLaren than last year."
He also praised Carlos Sainz, noting: "Then comes Carlos Sainz, who was always ahead of Charles Leclerc at Ferrari except for China. Also in qualifying. That surprised me. Even in qualifying, Sainz drives very aggressively and won impressively in Australia."
Marko didn't hold back on his admiration for Fernando Alonso's skills either, stating: "And then of course Fernando Alonso, who did incredible things in the final training sessions and demonstrated his enormous duel strength in the races, as was shown once again in the duel with Perez in Shanghai - he doesn't give up an inch."
Despite the praise for others, it's Charles Leclerc who trails the Red Bulls most closely in the championship standings, with 76 points to his name, seven more than his teammate Sainz who had to sit out a race due to appendicitis, while Norris is in fifth place with 58 points after a strong performance in China.
