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Palou does not want to make too big statements about McLaren.
Verstappen in the McLaren
Palou indicates that he has only driven the McLaren car once, so he finds it difficult to say. However, he has no doubts about Verstappen. ‘Max in the McLaren? Spacious, yes. He would have won weeks ago. Two months earlier,” says Palou resolutely, repeating the statements of the world champion himself. Verstappen said before the race in Qatar that there would be no title fight to the end if Red Bull had had such a dominant car as McLaren.
‘I think I could have competed, but I wouldn’t have been champion two months earlier. Max is the only one who could have done that,” Palou is sure. The two world champions have a lot of respect for each other. A few weeks ago, Verstappen spoke out about Palou, when it was discussed whether someone from IndyCar could make the switch to Formula 1. “I’m especially happy to see how well he’s doing in IndyCar and the way he’s dominating,” said Verstappen.
The internal rules at McLaren are seen as the main reason why the drivers’ championship has yet to be determined. “I think it’s being made bigger than it is,” Palou says. “They had the best car and wanted to be the friendly team that does everything perfectly and takes good care of the drivers, but by trying to do that they achieved the opposite. Now everyone thinks they are favoring one at the expense of the other. I don’t really think there is favoritism, but it is true that the papaya rules have not worked.’
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Palou is sure that Verstappen would already have been champion in the McLaren.
Crucial moment in Monza?
The change of position in Monza after Norris’s slow stop is mainly seen as a turning point in the mutual struggle between the two teammates. “That moment in Monza… Well, it is what it is,” says the IndyCar champion. ‘If they tell you something, you do it, because at the end of the day you work for them. ‘You can discuss it, but in the end you drive thanks to the team. By the way, I don’t know what I would have done in such a situation, do you,” Palou adds.
‘From the outside it is easy to say: I am second, he is third, leave him alone, I will finish ahead of him. From the outside, everything is easy,” he repeats. “But at that moment, when you work for the factory, the brand and so many people, and they say that, then in the end you are just an employee,” it seems as if Palou is standing up a bit for Oscar Piastri, who had to settle for a P3 that weekend. He can still become champion this weekend, but Verstappen and Norris obviously have a better chance.
