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Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF21, Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL35M
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Analysis

How Ferrari gained a new edge over McLaren in the best-of-the-rest F1 2021 battle

Supremacy in the McLaren vs Ferrari fight over third place in the constructors’ championship has ebbed and flowed between the two teams so far in the 2021 Formula 1 season. But for several key reasons, right now it seems the advantage has swung decisively back to the Scuderia and McLaren knows it.

What a season Formula 1 is having in 2021.

There are brilliant battles everywhere: Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton, which rightly takes top billing as the closest multi-team title fight the championship has produced in years plays out at every round. Then there’s the contest to be F1's best 'A' team between Alpine, AlphaTauri and Aston Martin, Williams and Alfa Romeo going at it on the edge of the midfield, the Haas rookies battling at the back. Plus, Fernando Alonso vs the FIA and the vagaries of the F1 rulebook. All got these contests got a good outing last week at Austin in the gripping US Grand Prix.

But the standout battle behind the fight at the front between Mercedes and Red Bull concerns two of F1's most storied squads: McLaren vs Ferrari. And they’re scrapping to be best-of-the-rest and secure the lucrative third place in the 2021 constructors’ championship.

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