![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/73\/590x\/secondary\/Lewis-Hamilton-George-Russell-5010513.jpg?r=1697202590957\")
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Max Verstappen believes that it is McLaren and not Mercedes who have the strongest driver line-up on the grid in 2023, picking Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris ahead of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.<\/p>\n
Mercedes currently occupy P2 in the Constructor Championship heading into the final five rounds of the season and while their line-up is arguably the strongest on paper, Hamilton and Russell have had their fair share of on-track squabbles this year, sometimes negatively impacting the team\u2019s weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
McLaren, on the other hand, have been largely drama-free with Norris and Piastri delivering the maximum from the MCL60 package with the young duo posing the most consistent threat to Verstappen and Red Bull since the British Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
Speaking about the McLaren duo, Verstappen said: “I do think that as a team they are probably the most consistent, compared to the others behind us.<\/p>\n
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive F1 news.<\/strong><\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> Sergio Perez makes drastic Red Bull demand in spite of Helmut Marko\u2019s exit calls[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n “I do think they have the best driver line-up out of all of them, so they are operating really well. It’s going to be interesting to the end of the year, but also I think the start of next year to see where everyone is at.”<\/p>\n However, while he has been impressed by the performances of Piastri and Norris this season, Verstappen wasn\u2019t convinced that the Woking-based team had the true pace to challenge him for victory in Qatar last time out.<\/p>\n Piastri managed to convert his sprint shootout P1 award into a sprint race victory on Saturday in Qatar before finishing runner-up to Verstappen in the Grand Prix on the Sunday, crossing the line just six seconds behind the reigning world champion.<\/p>\n More F1… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n “I do think we had a bit more pace in hand if we really needed it but nevertheless, I don’t want to take anything away from McLaren,” he explained. \u201cThey’ve been doing a great job and from us, we see that they are getting closer and closer.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we have to try and maintain a bit of a gap. McLaren is making great steps forward throughout the whole year. From our side, we\u2019ll try to improve a little bit this year, but of course mainly for next year.”<\/p>\n McLaren hold genuine hopes of challenging Red Bull for both titles in 2024 if they can continue their current upward trajectory and with such a stable and consistent driver line-up, they are bound to cause their rivals problems.<\/p>\n
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Oscar Piastri tipped to become ‘the next Max Verstappen’ with titles to follow[PIASTRI] <\/strong><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/73\/590x\/secondary\/Oscar-Piastri-Lando-Norris-5010499.jpg?r=1697202591044\")
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