Season Debrief: McLaren impress with an unexpected turnaround

McLaren by far have the best story of 2023 with an unlikely turnaround, which saw the Woking team start at the back of the championship to finishing the season in fourth, as well as securing the DHL fastest pit stop in Qatar with a time of 1.80 seconds.

 

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It was a troubling start to the season for McLaren in Bahrain, with only one driver being able to finish the race. Lando Norris crossed the line for the season opener in P17, while his teammate and rookie Oscar Piastri had a DNF for his debut in the series. The struggle didn’t fade in the following race in Saudi Arabia, both McLarens crossing the line at the back of the grid. Norris unable to improve from the last race finished once again in P17, while Piastri completed his first full F1 race ahead of his teammate in P15.

 

The MCL60 coming alive ahead of the summer break with substantial upgrades coming to Norris’s car in Austria, Norris’s stellar comeback landing him driver of the day, which he took for all races leading to the summer break.

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At Silverstone, Norris lit up the faces of the British fans as he lined up on the front row for his home race at Silverstone, before bringing them to their feet for Sunday’s race by taking the lead from the dominant Verstappen at Turn 1 and leading the Grand Prix for 5 laps. McLaren bringing the same upgrades to Norris’s car in Austria to Piastri at Silverstone, the upgraded package helping Piastri to line up on the second row behind his teammate in P3, before finishing the race in P4.

 

McLaren ended the season with 9 podiums, 2 of which coming from their rookie. Piastri completing his rookie season with 2 podiums and achieving a maiden victory in F1 before his teammate. Piastri won the Qatar sprint, Norris yet to win his first race in F1 after a series of misfortune costing him the win on multiple occasions. Piastri’s strong performance throughout the season made McLaren quick to extend the 22-year-old Australian drivers contract up until the end of the 2026 campaign.

 

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From a season that looked doomed from the first green light, McLaren’s aerodynamic upgrades salvaged their season, bringing the team up to P4 in the constructor’s championship ahead of Aston Martin who had the reverse outcome of McLaren in 2023. Norris finished the drivers’ championship in P6, while Piastri ended his rookie season in P9.