According to Sky Sports F1's David Croft, reigning world champion Lando Norris has a realistic chance of mounting a remarkable comeback to retain his Formula 1 drivers' title. Norris secured his first win of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix, narrowing the gap to championship leader Kimi Antonelli to 91 points.
The summer break has begun, with 11 out of 23 scheduled rounds completed. Norris' dominant victory, following a significant upgrade package from McLaren, has raised hopes that the team may have permanently joined the battle for victories, and the Brit can surge back into title contention. Speaking on The F1 Show podcast, Croft emphasized that the key factor will be whether McLaren can consistently outperform Antonelli's Mercedes team.
Croft stated, 'One of the big things coming out of the summer break is whether McLaren can carry this momentum forward. Are they going to focus on Lando Norris, and will it pay off again?' He added, 'The Constructors' Championship is still up for grabs, and I don't think Lando is too far behind to make up the deficit.' One of McLaren's weaknesses this season has been their inability to fully utilize the power unit supplied by Mercedes. However, Croft pointed out that the Hungaroring has similarities to Monaco, where Mercedes won in early June. 'We're 11 races into the season now, and I think McLaren are understanding the power unit better than they were at the start of the year,' Croft said.
The fact that McLaren's upgrade worked has delighted Croft, who believes the team is now catching up. There remains some uncertainty over whether all remaining scheduled rounds will take place due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East. However, Sky Sports F1's Bernie Collins thinks there is still time for Norris to turn things around.
'I think this year is going to be about upgrades and who can get the best out of the cars and engines,' Collins said on The F1 Show podcast. Max Verstappen trailed the championship leader by 104 points with nine rounds remaining last season before ultimately finishing just two points behind title winner Norris. Collins added, 'We've seen McLaren have a bit of an upper hand this weekend, and maybe Mercedes have been distracted with each other. So, I think it's still all to play for, with three cars, maybe including Verstappen, in the fight.' The Formula 1 season resumes after the summer break with a Sprint weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix from August 21-23, with every session live on Sky Sports F1.