F1 News: Lando Norris "Excited" About McLaren Starting "On The Right Track" In 2024
Sounding confident, McLaren driver Lando Norris is excited for 2024 as he finds the team to be "on the right track." Given the Papaya team's learnings from 2023 and the way it bounced back during the second half of the season, there could be a lot in store next year that Norris has been talking about.
McLaren fell short of its winter development targets, experiencing a challenging start to the 2023 season as neither driver secured any points in the initial two races. However, with a three-stage car upgrade introduced starting from the Austrian Grand Prix, the team rebounded and established itself as the second-fastest contender, trailing only the dominant Red Bull, who secured the constructors' championship.
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Courtesy of the upgrades, McLaren surpassed the early success of Aston Martin and secured the fourth position in the standings. Norris is optimistic that there is still significant potential for McLaren to progress further.
Speaking to the media after finishing fifth in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he said:
“For us to catch Mercedes, for us to catch Ferrari in terms of pace…
“We've been behind them for two years, they've not really taken any steps forward and we've taken a massive step forward, and there’s plenty more things that we know we can improve on. It's a good time for us.
“A few more bits of the puzzle to put together but we found the key pieces. We know what direction to go in, so I'm really very proud of the whole team.
“If we were in Bahrain now and I looked ahead, I was dreading the season already. So, to come away with seven podiums and all the great moments we've had was definitely not expected.”
New In-House Wind Tunnel
In the upcoming 2024 season, McLaren's newly established in-house wind tunnel will influence car design for the first time. Additionally, the notable acquisitions of Rob Marshall from Red Bull, overseeing engineering and design, and David Sanchez from Ferrari, responsible for car concept and performance, will officially commence their roles as technical directors.
With the incoming recruits, Norris is excited about the next twelve months with the team. He added:
“I'm very excited.
“If we had just started the season how we were in the middle [of 2023 with the upgrades], we would be P2 in the constructors’ and P2 in the drivers’ championship.
“I know it doesn't always work like that. But we're on the right track, that's what I'm trying to say.
“We have some new hirings, the guys are coming in '24. So maybe not everything that they can bring to us we would have on the car straight away. But some things that we just already know now.
“We've learned already over the last four or five, six months, from the progress we've made, we've learned a lot.
“I'm excited because we're finally on the right track and we know which direction to push.
“I just want to start the season off well. If we could start well in Bahrain, I'll be a lot more excited.”
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