F1: Red Bull has to watch its back, and it’s not Mercedes or Aston Martin

Red Bull is still dominating, but the team they need to keep an eye on is suddenly not the teams that have been directly behind them.

Red Bull sits atop the constructor’s table in Formula One after this weekend, a massive 200-plus points above the next highest team, Mercedes. All of a sudden, they have more pressure coming down the grid at them in the form of a team who has finally figured things out.

Silverstone, the home race for several teams and drivers, came and went. McLaren, with two drivers representing the Great Britain flag, had itself one heck of a weekend with its first podium of the season. Lando Norris secured the second spot, and just behind the top three was Oscar Piastri at fourth. In exchange, McLaren got 30 points on Sunday, more than its total coming into the weekend (29).

A fluke weekend for McLaren, some lucky outcome? Not really. McLaren dominated in qualifying. Then they were a rocketship in the Grand Prix.

Look at the recent news of upgrades teams made and it’s clear McLaren is something to be concerned about.

Red Bull and other top F1 teams need to be concerned about McLaren

We’re just over a week removed from the declared changes that McLaren made to its car. McLaren made a whopping five declared changes, more than any other team, including a new sidepod shape, halo, floor, and a new shape for its cooling louvre.

The results since those changes? McLaren got fourth last weekend, and two and four this weekend. Their previous high finish was sixth.

Red Bull, with its 200-point lead, likely does not need to be all that concerned about McLaren stacking up enough points to threaten its title directly. But another strong competitor in the mix for podiums, and another fast car, puts the pressure on the entire weekend, and increases the risk of a catastrophic decision and decreases the margin for error.

Things just got real, and we’re not yet even at the summer break. Thanks for getting things in gear, McLaren.