2024 F1 season previews: Can McLaren build on an incredible finish to the 2023 F1 season?

here SB Nation We were treated to a rather unique perspective of ‘The Rise of McLaren’.

When I sat down with Lando Norris in April ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to talk about the start to the season, the tricky Baku City circuit and why he was so bad at racing. F122the McLaren driver outlined how the team was battling for points at that point in the season.

“Tough question. Getting points right now is our goal,” Norris said last April of his expectations for the season. “I think that’s realistic. We have four very fast teams at the moment, Aston have made a big step forward and there are eight spaces on the grid that fill up quickly. It’s tough at the back. It’s a battle, we’re very close, a good battle against Alpine, they were very fast in Australia too and were definitely one step ahead of us.”

By November, when I spoke to Oscar Piastri ahead of the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, the team was fighting for and sure of a podium finish.

What happened in between? “A faster race car,” Zac Brown explained to me in October. But while that’s true, there was more to their rise than that. As outlined by McLaren’s CEO, the team made several management changes at the start of the season, including a restructuring of its technical team. These changes allowed him to make his planned upgrade to the MCL60. The result was certainly a faster race car and, in Brawn’s words, “the best combination of drivers on the grid” that enabled the team to make strides.

By the end of the season, McLaren had moved up to fourth place, having overtaken Ferrari’s third place on the outside shot. Although he didn’t make the final pass, it was a remarkable breakthrough and many are wondering if McLaren will be a surprise package this season.

Papaya Corps certainly believes so.

2023 Highlights: Qatar GP

The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix weekend was one of the toughest on the entire F1 calendar.

But it was an event McLaren will probably never forget.

the team left Suzuka still in 5th place behind Aston Martin, but a double podium at the Japanese Grand Prix elevated his status. Norris finished second in Japan, marking his fourth P2 of the season and second consecutive year. Meanwhile, Piastri took third place behind him. Despite scoring 33 points at Suzuka, they were still 49 points behind Aston Martin.

Thanks to what happened in Qatar, McLaren went into the American Grand Prix just 11 points behind Aston Martin.

The first step is to qualify for the Grand Prix. Both drivers advanced to Q3, with Norris failing to set a time in the third session and starting the Grand Prix in 10th place, while Piastri qualified in 6th place.

Then came Saturday’s F1 sprint and it was a big day for the team. It was Max Verstappen who saw several lap times removed during qualifying for the F1 sprint race, opening the door for the McLaren duo. Piastri and Norris mounted a fierce attack, with Piastri taking pole position for the F1 sprint and Norris securing a front row spot alongside Piastri.

In the F1 sprint race itself, Piastri took first place, holding off Verstappen, who had won the drivers’ championship for the third year in a row, halfway through, with Norris finishing third. The team achieved a double podium and scored a further 14 points.

Then came the Grand Prix itself. As outlined above, the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix was one of the toughest races of the season. Concerns about tire wear led the FIA ​​to mandate lap limits for each set of tires, forcing teams to make at least three pit stops during a race. This meant that the drivers would push each set to the limit, and without laps for tire management, the drivers would not have the opportunity to relax at any point in the race.

Add in the weather conditions, and some drivers vomited in their helmets during the race, while others received corporal punishment and eventually retired.

Norris and Piastri held out. Verstappen took another win, but the McLaren duo also joined them on the podium, with Piastri second and Norris third. The team scored an additional 33 points; The total for the weekend was 47 people.

“It was just a mega race from start to finish. I had a good opening lap. I learned from my mistake of going wide yesterday and said I was going to go tight and that’s what I did. So I got off to a good start and overall I ran a good pace throughout,” Norris said after the race. “I probably had my best pace today so I’m happy. It’s stressful, hot, sweaty and a little tired, but great job for the team. This is my third in a row. Pitstops are also 1.8. Seconds!

“I think the three stops made it a lot harder physically. I can push more. Even in the last stint, I’ll be able to push almost flat out. This is the hardest I’ve ever done. It was one race, but a great challenge, and congratulations on the Oscar. Thank you to the team who have done a great job of putting us in this position.”

Team principal Andrea Stella praised the entire organization on the day McLaren achieved its 500th podium in F1.

“It was a great day for the team as we achieved our 500th podium in F1. Both Lando and Oscar ran a great race in difficult conditions, finishing second and third, and were very successful in yesterday’s sprint. The double podium recognizes the team’s great work both trackside and at the factory and thanks them for their continued commitment and dedication to McLaren. ” Stella said..

“The tire limitations posed an interesting challenge for the team as we had to adapt our strategy and prepare the team for the six stops. But they managed very well and the pit stop crew Thanks to a great job, he achieved the fastest stop of 1.8 seconds.

“We are now focused on a busy triple header as we continue to close the gap on our competitors. We have to keep our feet on the ground, but so far we are off to a very strong weekend. I would like to congratulate you on your success.”

2023 Lowlights: February and March

As mentioned above, McLaren started the season in a really weak position.

The struggles of the MCL60 were evident from the preseason testing stage. The team has promised that upgrades to the 2023 Challenger will occur, preferably by the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but there are races to be contested in the meantime.

In the first two races of the season, McLaren failed to score a single point. At the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Norris started 11th, while Piastri was unable to get out of Q1 and started 18th. The rookie retired on lap 13 with an electrical failure, and although Norris was able to complete the race, he required six pit stops to deal with a hydraulic problem.

Norris finished 17th in Bahrain, two laps behind race winner Max Verstappen.

Next time in Saudi Arabia, the situation improved. But only a little. Norris was eliminated in Q1 on qualifying day, but Piastri advanced to Q3 for the first time in his career and started the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in ninth place.

Any chance of finishing in the points ended before lap one was decided.

Piastri collided with Pierre Gasly at Turn 2 and had to pit to be fitted with a new front wing. Norris, who was running behind the two, also had to pit on the second lap over debris from the collision. As a result, the two McLaren drivers were at the back and were unable to close the gap on the track. . Piastri finished 15th, two places ahead of Norris, who was 17th.

It was not the start to the season that McLaren, or its fans, had hoped for. Thankfully, the tide will start to turn in the coming months.

Outlook for 2024:

Given the way the season ended, expectations are pretty high for McLaren as 2024 approaches.

There’s a good reason for that.

Their strong late-game stretch has given the team a lot of momentum heading into 2024, but the biggest question is probably this: They’re not on the back foot like they did with the MCL60 a season ago, but with the MCL38. Can you start on the front foot?

The first answer to that will come during preseason testing in the coming days.

But Stella is optimistic.

“We are certainly pleased that after a difficult start to 2023 from a reliability perspective we have been able to make significant progress,” Stella said in an article published on McLaren’s website. . “I’m satisfied not because I’m seeing the results, but because I’m seeing the effort we’ve put into improving our technical reliability, especially in terms of how we deal with reliability as an organization. And in terms of looking at our operating model, we’ve deployed more forces and structures in terms of reliability.

“We are working on further evolution from a reliability perspective and will carry that forward into the future. We have also added more people to increase reliability.”

What if the team could do it right in MCL38 and really start at the front?

be careful.

Photo by Gongora/NurPhoto, Getty Images

Person under the most pressure to perform in 2024: Andrea Stella

Considering the finish by 2023, expectations for McLaren this year are very different. From Brown to the driver pair of Piastri and Norris, there’s pressure to live up to.

After all, how well they can start this season and how well they can end it starts with Stella.

Team principals spoke this week about their expectations ahead of the 2024 campaign.

“We’re not just focused on results, we’re more focused on what leads to results and what we can control,” Stella explained. “What we can control is to continue to do the best job we can provide given the talent we have on our team, which is huge and growing in all areas.

“The standards we set and the methods we use to produce our cars all have to be the best possible, based on the aspects we value most: collaboration and teamwork. Cooperation If you don’t have a strong attitude, McLaren is not the place for you.

“Our focus is on working together as a team and doing our best. From this point on, the result will take care of itself,” added the McLaren boss. “We will use the results to see more precisely where we need to continue to improve and where we need to accelerate the development of our team. That is our philosophy.”

2024 McLaren lineup

Team representative: andrea stella
driver: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
challenger: MCL38