Is McLaren still on course for another win this year? Only if it comes down to the Italian scenario

In this year’s Italian Grand Prix, a tear of happiness must have been shed for many a fan when Daniel Ricciardo crossed the line first in the orange McLaren. It was the first British team to win in nine years, and the first team in 2021 to win a double, i.e. a first- and second-place car.

However, there were several turning points before the whole beautiful moment in the orange garage. The very first one was the information about Valtteri Bottas’ power unit change, which caused the Finn to fall completely backwards at the start.

Bottas’s teammate Hamilton, in turn, made a poor start in the sprint race, letting both McLarens ahead of him at the start of the Grand Prix.

The drivers of the orange monoposts started behind Max Verstappen in second and third. After the start of the race, Daniel Ricciardo took the lead before the first corner and also held the lead for a long time.

Then around the halfway point of the race came the decisive moment when Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton crashed into each other at the end of the first chicane. At that point, the two McLaren monoblocs, both very fast in Italy, were in the top two places.

And in the end, Daniel Ricciardo took the win. However, it has to be added that if the currently third fastest team still wanted to win, a similar scenario to the one at the Italian VC would probably have to be repeated.

Otherwise, McLaren should still be slightly behind Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

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