McLaren is highly optimistic about its chances of competing against Red Bull in the upcoming 2024 Formula 1 season with its new car, the MCL38. In 2023, McLaren surprised everyone with its remarkable turnaround, going from being eliminated in the first qualifying session to becoming a consistent podium contender. The team made significant upgrades to its underperforming MCL60, starting in Austria, and managed to accumulate 285 points from that point onwards. McLaren even outperformed Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Qatar and consistently challenged Ferrari and Mercedes for podium finishes. By the end of the season, McLaren had surpassed Aston Martin to secure fourth place in the Constructors’ standings with 302 points.
Aston Martin’s Technical Director, Dan Falows, believes that Red Bull can be defeated in 2024, and McLaren is considered one of the strongest contenders to dethrone Verstappen and his team. However, McLaren’s Team Principal, Andrea Stella, acknowledges that Red Bull may still have an advantage at the beginning of the season due to their limited car development in the previous year. Stella expects that Red Bull would have accumulated valuable knowledge and made significant improvements to their 2024 car. Nevertheless, Stella believes that McLaren’s development rate from 2023, if maintained for the new car, will put them in a strong position. The team is aware that challenging Red Bull and other top teams, who have also made improvements, will be a tough task. However, McLaren remains confident in their development rate and aims to consolidate their position over time.
Piastri’s victory in the Sprint race in Qatar was one of only two instances where Red Bull did not come out on top in racing conditions. The other occasion was Carlos Sainz’s triumph for Ferrari in the Singapore Grand Prix. It remains to be seen if the Australian can surpass Red Bull and win a grand prix in his second F1 season, but Piastri approaches the challenge with a positive mindset. He believes that they have the potential to defeat Red Bull and shares the optimism expressed by Andrea Fallows regarding their rate of development.
However, Piastri acknowledges that McLaren is not the sole team aiming to dethrone Red Bull. He is well aware that McLaren must also keep an eye on their competitors, not just in 2024 but in the future as well. Piastri points out that they had intense battles with Mercedes and Ferrari, particularly in the second half of the season. The championship points were closely contested between these teams, all of which have experienced success at different stages. Piastri emphasizes the need to be cautious and acknowledges that there will be other top teams making progress.
In 2023, Norris achieved a career-best of seven podium finishes but has yet to secure his first grand prix victory. Like his teammate and team principal, Norris does not fully commit to the belief that Red Bull is unbeatable. However, he shares their collective optimism and believes that they can challenge Red Bull. Norris highlights that they came very close to defeating Red Bull at certain times and were successful on some occasions. The real challenge, however, lies in beating them consistently throughout a season, considering Red Bull’s exceptional performance. Norris remains optimistic and wants to believe that it is possible to overcome Red Bull at certain points.
According to the Source motorsportweek.com