Credits: IMAGO NurPhoto

McLaren’s Lando Norris arguably provided Max Verstappen with one of the biggest challenges the Dutchman has ever faced during the ground-effects era of the sport at the 2024 Emilia Romagna GP. Although Verstappen took the chequered flag as the race-winner, he finished just 0.7 seconds ahead of Norris. Despite this strong performance from McLaren, CEO Zak Brown reckons his team is still behind Red Bull and Ferrari in terms of pace.

Speaking after the race, Brown was quoted by Junaid Samodien on X (formerly Twitter) as saying, “I think Red Bull have a great advantage, and are the team to beat. First, we need to catch Ferrari and then hope Mercedes don’t catch us. I am sure we can win more races.”

McLaren slashed their gap to Red Bull this season massively at the Miami GP the last time around. Debuting their first upgrade package of the season, the revised MCL38 led Lando Norris to his first-ever Grand Prix win.

The race at Imola was going to be a litmus test for the team. Throughout the weekend, both Norris and his teammate, Oscar Piastri, looked at ease with the MCL38.

During the race, Verstappen did pull a gap to Norris initially. But the last 10 laps saw Norris eat away Verstappen’s advantage as the reigning world champion suffered from rear degradation.

The #4 driver’s performance rouses expectations that McLaren will be challenging Red Bull for the remainder of the season. With McLaren having had two consecutive strong races, it now begs the question of whether they are stronger than Ferrari at the moment or not.

Is McLaren stronger than Ferrari at the moment?

Zak Brown’s words seem to reflect an alternate reality that was not visible on track during Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The Ferraris of both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were in the mix for podium places. However, the MCL38s had the legs on the Prancing Horse in terms of out-and-out pace.

Leclerc rounded off the final podium slot, more than seven seconds behind Norris. On the other hand, Sainz finished behind the McLaren of Piastri in fifth, more than twenty seconds behind both Norris and Verstappen.

Naturally, after the 2024 Emilia Romagna GP, the pecking order at the front of the grid has changed. McLaren and Red Bull look evenly matched with little to separate between them. Ferrari, however, despite their upgrades seem to be a step or two behind the leading pack at the moment.