Lando Norris has said Red Bull's resurgence in the last two races should come as no surprise as he prepares for Max Verstappen to become a factor in the title race.
After consecutive victories in Azerbaijan and Italy, Verstappen moved 69 points off championship leader Oscar Piastri on Sunday and 44 points behind second place Norris.
Verstappen's win in Monza ended an eight-race win drought in which he only scored two podiums as Red Bull struggled for performance.
But Norris said the defending champion's recent victories are in line with Red Bull's performance at the start of the season and should not come as a surprise.
"It's not often that they're slow, you know, so I think people need to stop being so surprised that they're quick," he said.
"Max was winning races already at the beginning of the year, he could have won round one, I think he was pretty close to winning round two in the sprint or something.
"The whole season they've been quick, the Red Bull has been good, they brought some upgrades to Monza which seems to have helped them improve even more. So, not a surprise, I think we know that they're an incredibly strong team and one of the best drivers ever in Formula 1 so we expect nothing less."
Norris has been locked in a title battle with teammate Piastri throughout the 2025 season and is 25 points off the Australian in the standings.
The Brit said McLaren struggled for performance at the last two rounds in Baku and Monza, which also seemed to suit the strengths of the Red Bull.
"They're going to make our life difficult I think for the rest of the season but we also know from our side, we struggled a bit here [in Baku], Monza clearly were not quick enough," Norris added. "We've made improvements but things where the Red Bull have been so good and dominant in the past, they still have and we don't.
- Verstappen's win in Baku has McLaren hearing 'Jaws' theme
- Baku podium sets record straight on Sainz's Williams season
- Hamilton to apologise to Charles Leclerc over position swap
"When I was following the Red Bull [of Yuki Tsunoda], there was clearly some areas where they were just another level to us and we need to understand why."
Norris said his Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend was ruined by the chaotic qualifying session on Saturday. After Piastri crashed out at the start of Q3, Norris was the first driver back on track and caught the end of a rain shower, making it difficult to set a clean lap.
"I think on ultimate pace we were still not bad this weekend [in Baku]," Norris said. "I was still quick in FP1, FP2, FP3 and so forth.
"If it had been a normal qualifying... I think the tricky conditions, the little bit of rain, going out first on track, all added up to making it the worst weekend.
"Our position in the race, I think if I started second, I think I would have finished second. I don't think we had the pace of Red Bull, honestly. That was very, very clear. I think just the lower downforce tracks, we still seem to struggle.
"We still don't have the confidence we need. It can be quick, we're just not able to repeat it as often as we need to and as often as the Red Bull, for example. We've had an amazing season, don't get me wrong, but we clearly have things that are not good enough and we have to keep working on them."