Sun Sep 15 15:56:05 UTC 2024: ## Red Bull Now the Hunters as McLaren Seizes Championship Lead
**Baku, Azerbaijan:** Red Bull Racing, the reigning Formula One champions, are now playing catch-up after losing the constructors’ championship lead to McLaren following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Despite strong performances from Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in qualifying, a crash by Perez during the race and a dominant performance by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who won the race, saw the team fall 20 points behind. This puts a significant dent in Red Bull’s hopes of winning their fifth consecutive constructors’ championship.
“Look, we’re now not defending, we’re chasing. So it changes the dynamic again, and we’re just going to throw everything at it,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
Verstappen, who finished fifth, still holds a 59-point lead over McLaren’s Lando Norris in the drivers’ championship, but with seven rounds remaining, the pressure is on.
While Perez expressed disappointment at his early exit from the race, he highlighted the positive performance of the Red Bull car.
McLaren’s resurgence, spearheaded by Piastri’s win and Lando Norris’s strong fourth-place finish, has seen them reclaim the top spot for the first time since 2014.
With the championship fight now wide open, the remaining races promise to be full of excitement and drama as Red Bull tries to regain their dominance.
First Piper 