Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris' victories in the initial six races of the 2024 Formula 1 season suggest that Max Verstappen's control over the championship could be weakening.
During the Miami GP, Verstappen encountered several setbacks on the way to P2, including the timing of the safety car deployment and a collision with a bollard.
"There was a hole in the floor," Verstappen disclosed. "But I don't think that's why. We didn't have enough pace."
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc acknowledged that Norris and McLaren deserved their Miami victory due to their performance.
"I don't think I could have won," he admitted. "McLaren was too strong. But I did have the same speed as Max."
Oscar Piastri is poised to receive the full upgrade at Imola, while Norris already competed with McLaren's significant update at the same venue, known as the "B version" of the 2024 car according to McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
Ferrari is now set to introduce a substantial upgrade at Imola.
"It will also be a very important upgrade," Leclerc remarked. "It will determine how the rest of our season plays out. I'm looking forward to that and I hope that we can take a big step forward."
"It's going to be an arms race of upgrades this year, and I'm glad that we'll soon have new parts on our car that will hopefully be as good as McLaren's."
Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari's team boss, tempered expectations about the upcoming improvements.
"We are at the point in the development of the car where if you put something new on the car it is not a matter of seconds, it is a matter of tenths," he explained.
"It's not like years ago when every new thing brought 3-4 tenths," he continued. "There is a gap that varies from track to track, from compound to compound, and it is a bigger difference than an update."
"The update at Imola will certainly help us, but it will depend more on the work we do on the track."
McLaren's team boss, Andrea Stella, remains measured about the impact of their Miami upgrade, underscoring that Red Bull and Verstappen "didn't have a clean weekend."
Red Bull's Christian Horner echoed this sentiment: "McLaren have taken a step, but only the next races will show how big it really is."
Stella stressed the need for continual improvements: "If we want to challenge Red Bull in the long term, we need another (upgrade) package like this one."
Ralf Schumacher, a former F1 driver, challenged the notion that Verstappen is still at the peak of his dominance.
"This is an exciting season," he observed on Sky Deutschland. "The pressure is coming from all sides. Ferrari has gotten stronger, but now McLaren has too."
"We'll have to wait a few more races to see how that develops, because the asphalt in Miami is special and Red Bull seems to struggle more in these conditions, as is the case in Singapore."
"Either way, I'm convinced that we haven't seen Lando Norris' last victory of the season."
