McLaren boss optimistic about the new season

McLaren’s latest Formula One car, the MCL38, braved wet conditions for its inaugural track appearance at Silverstone on Wednesday. Team CEO Zak Brown set ambitious goals for the upcoming season, aiming not just for podium finishes but also victories.

In the 2023 season, McLaren secured a fourth-place finish overall, with Lando Norris and rookie Oscar Piastri behind the wheel. Norris, the British driver, reached the podium seven times, clinching six second-place finishes, while Piastri secured second in Qatar and third in Japan.

Expressing confidence in the team’s progress, Brown told Sky Sports television, “We feel good, it’s been a good winter. We’re happy with the development. It feels like we’ve continued on our development pace from where we were in the second half of last year.” Brown anticipates a strong start to the season, acknowledging that while they can’t predict competitors’ moves, McLaren has taken significant steps forward.

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Despite Norris having yet to secure a race win in his 104 starts and Piastri’s limited 22 Grand Prix appearances, Brown suggested that a victory, the team’s first since Daniel Ricciardo’s triumph at Monza in 2021, could be within reach. “Our hopes, our goals, our ambition is definitely to take a step forward,” Brown explained. “We finished fourth in the championship last year but in the second half of the year, we were the second or third quickest team. So our ambition is to move forward from there. We see no reason why… we can’t be winning races at some point over the year. So lots of podiums and some wins or certainly the ambition.”

Highlighting the team’s commitment to its drivers, both Norris and Piastri are under long-term contracts. Brown clarified that Norris’s recent contract extension, announced last month, wasn’t influenced by advance knowledge of Lewis Hamilton’s switch from Mercedes to Ferrari in 2025.