Andrea Stella and McLaren aim for victory in 2024

Last year, McLaren had had a superb season, after having gotten off to a very bad start. Nowhere from Bahrain to Montreal, the Woking team was able to turn the tables in 2023 thanks to an extremely effective improvement made in Austria and at Silverstone. A new package that allowed Lando Norris to paint the podiums (7), to Oscar piastri to sign the sprint pole and the sprint victory in Qatar, and for McLaren to move up the hierarchy until finishing 4th in the Constructors' championship.

So obviously, Woking's number one objective at the start of the 1 campaign was first of all not to fall behind as during the previous season, and from that point of view, it's rather successful. The two McLaren drivers always finished in the points in the first 2024 races, Lando Norris (4rd, Melbourne) scored a podium while Oscar Piastri (3th, Melbourne and Jeddah) did not go far. Thanks to good consistency, the team led by Zak Brown is currently 4rd in the Manufacturers, one break ahead of Mercedes et Aston Martin.

Can McLaren really win in 2024?

Andrea Stella, the team principal, also took note of the gap that separates them from Red Bull of course, but also Ferrari. “I would say that Ferrari, definitely, is not far ahead of us, confided the Italian in the podcast F1 Nation. So I think it will be a development battle this year because these cars offer a lot of performance through development. I would say that's the main goal for us. » A first development should arrive in Miami, before two other big improvements planned for the rest of the season. The Italian, formerly of the Scuderia, also knows that his former employer should also bring new parts to Imola.

“The first part of the message we are delivering internally is that it is important for us to consolidate McLaren as the third best team at this stage of the season, because it confirms the trajectory we started twelve months ago. But we obviously look to the future and we consider that Ferrari is not far away, they are definitely within the reach of our development capabilities. So we are fully committed to delivering enough performance to the car to be able to attack Ferrari for second place. »

Checking in! 👋

Lando and Oscar chat through their preparation for the #ChineseGP. 👊 pic.twitter.com/0jaSd6PdYg

- McLaren (@ McLarenF1) April 18, 2024

Since her appointment as head of the team, Andrea Stella has never lacked ambition. And that seems to be the case again this year! “If we deliver the same type of developments that we did last year, then why not think about winning races this season? I don't want to sound arrogant, but I think this sport is about numbers, it's about facts, and that's certainly the mindset that everyone at McLaren has. We work hard to achieve this. » 

Star driver Lando Norris praised his boss's panache, but somewhat dampened the enthusiasm of papaya supporters when asked if he too imagined victory possible in 2024. “Not soon, that’s for sure.” he slipped. “I think we can win but at the right place and at the right time. If we improve the car where we need it. We have been in the same place (as in Japan) the whole season (3rd). We were behind Red Bull, Ferrari and a little ahead of the other two teams (Mercedes and Aston Martin).”

In the longer term, however, Lando is not holding back nothing. “Andrea is right from that point of view, if it turns out we can win, then we will win. But that's a big 'if'. We need to work hard in some of these areas which have been a major challenge for us over the past few years. Low speed corners are not to our advantage. If we can sort that out, then I’m confident we can have some good races.” Hope keeps us alive, especially as Lando Norris is still chasing his first Grand Prix victory!

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