McLaren’s hold on third place in the constructors’ championship is under growing pressure from a resurgent Red Bull, and former strategist Bernie Collins believes the Woking team have already been given a significant let-off. Collins argues that McLaren would now be behind Red Bull if Isack Hadjar had not missed three races through injury, forcing Liam Lawson into the second seat.
The claim frames McLaren’s current position as partly the product of good fortune rather than pure performance.
### THE CONSTRUCTORS’ GAP IS SHRINKING FAST
After Max Verstappen’s victories in Malaysia and Singapore, Red Bull have closed to within 17 points of third-placed McLaren. Verstappen has stood on the podium in seven of the last eight races as Red Bull have solved earlier rear instability issues with the RB22. McLaren, by contrast, have endured a difficult spell. Since Lando Norris’s back-to-back wins in Hungary and the Netherlands, consistent high-points finishes have been harder to find, and the team’s Singapore Sprint was further damaged when Norris and Oscar Piastri collided.
Collins highlighted the contrast in execution. “McLaren have had a few instances through the year where they’ve not maximised their points. Max Verstappen this weekend maximised the result. McLaren this weekend did not.”
### HADJAR’S ABSENCE AND LAWSON’S CONTRIBUTION
Isack Hadjar fractured his hand during the summer break and missed the Dutch, Italian and Spanish Grands Prix. Lawson stepped in and scored 14 points, including seventh in Zandvoort and sixth in Madrid. While the tally was respectable, Collins believes Hadjar would have extracted more from the same machinery.
“Arguably I think that if Hadjar hadn’t missed three races and where Liam Lawson was in that car, Red Bull would be ahead of McLaren,” she said on The F1 Show. “And that’s what McLaren know is that they have been saved, I think, at this stage because Hadjar wasn’t in that car for three races and they weren’t scoring the points that they could have done.”
Hadjar’s form on his return supports the argument. He took third in Baku, fifth in Sepang and still scored from the pit lane in Singapore.
### MCLAREN’S SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS
Collins also pointed to McLaren’s own missed opportunities. The Singapore Sprint collision between Norris and Piastri turned a potential healthy points haul into a single point. Similar weekends in which the team failed to convert pace into maximum points have accumulated across the season. In a tight constructors’ battle, those lost points become decisive.
Red Bull, by contrast, have capitalised whenever the car has been competitive. Verstappen’s relentless scoring has turned improved performance into a sustained challenge for third place.
### THE PRESSURE NOW SITS WITH MCLAREN
With Red Bull’s trajectory pointing upward and McLaren still searching for consistent pace, Collins’ assessment carries a clear warning. The buffer that once looked comfortable has almost disappeared, and the underlying performance trend favours the team from Milton Keynes.
“Now Red Bull are on the up and they need to up their game if they’re going to survive in that P3 position because it doesn’t look like it at the moment,” she concluded.
### WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE FINAL STRETCH
Six races remain. McLaren must reverse their recent form and eliminate costly intra-team incidents if they are to protect third place. Red Bull, with Verstappen in strong shape and Hadjar now fully fit, are positioned to keep applying pressure.
Collins’ central point is uncomfortable for McLaren: part of their current standing was protected by an injury to a rival. That protection has expired. From this point forward, the constructors’ battle will be decided by who maximises the points available each weekend — and on recent evidence, Red Bull are doing that more effectively.
