Life is full of consequential decisions. Make these decisions lightning fast with immediate consequences and hidden long-term ones and we have Formula 1. The teams often have to break their heads over the path they take, which always has massive repercussions and no way of going back. As reported today, McLaren has made a similar consequential decision for their long-term future. This decision by McLaren comes as a betrayal to Lando Norris, who had his eyes on his first win, ending the reign of Max Verstappen.

McLaren surprised the entire grid as they leapfrogged all teams except Red Bull after their upgrade package. The Woking outfit not only became the second fastest on the grid thanks to the massive upgrades, but it also gave Verstappen and Co. something to fret about. Norris’ heroics at Silverstone even made him a contender for the Red Bull seat alongside his best friend.

Thanks to the upgrades and back-to-back P2 finishes, the Brit would’ve surely been eyeing to break his F1 race win duck. However, as reported by journalist Thomas Maher on Twitter, the Woking outfit has surrendered to the mighty Max Verstappen. The report suggested McLaren will stop further development of the MCL60.

TP Andrea Stella revealed this news during the Italian GP weekend. He also revealed the team will now focus on the development of the 2024 challenger. However, there are still some upgrades in the pipeline that will be introduced over the course of the coming races, something Stella revealed in the past as well.

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So is this it? The closest team to challenge Verstappen has also given up, and the Dutchman is already running rampant. However, according to former team owner Eddie Jordan, this was always a known fact and Verstappen was never going to make it easy.

Eddie Jordan paints a brutally realistic picture for Lando Norris and Co.

The Brit has definitely gotten the closest to Verstappen than any driver on the grid so far this season. Norris even took the race lead away from Verstappen during the British GP.

However, the incidents that followed are indicative of the reality. Verstappen soon took the lead back and was nowhere to be seen throughout the rest of the race. According to Jordan, this is the brutal reality McLaren faces.

He said, “Winning Grands Prix at McLaren, first they have to overcome Red Bull. And the next biggest hurdle after that is the likes of Max Verstappen, which is not going to be an easy task, never. He’s fast emerging to be the greatest driver of all time. I think there’s no doubt about that.”

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Max Verstappen in the RB19 is a deadly combination, and no team has been able to come up with an answer to counter it. As it turns out, McLaren won’t be able to either.