McLaren awakening
In this 2023 season, behind the dominant Red Bull, we have witnessed a great balance of performance among the other four main teams on the grid: Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin and McLaren. The Woking team was the one who, more than anyone else, had benefited from the updates introduced during the current season. After occupying the rear for a long time in the first races of the year, the Papaya team woke up starting from the first important upgrade package, brought to the weekend of the Austrian GP.
The various innovations exploited by McLaren during the season have allowed Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to often be competitive for the top positions. The icing on the cake came in Suzuka, when both cars of the historic British team reached the podium, occupying second and third position behind Max Verstappen. However, many have noticed how, on the occasions in which the most relevant innovations were introduced in the car, for example at the Red Bull Ring and in Singapore, the team’s preference has always gone to Lando Norris. The Englishman was able to try the new features on his MCL60 with a race to spare and only the following weekend the same packages were also fitted on Piastri’s car.
Updates: everything right away
Andrea Stellateam principal of the team since this year, resolved the issue pragmatically: “We discussed the priorities after Monza in relation to the updates – commented the Italian manager in this regard – and it is important to provide the best performance as soon as possible. It would make no sense to leave this type of development in the garage when you are able to make the car a few tenths faster. It’s a very sensible choice and, even if it generates some frustration, I think everyone is mature enough and enough of a team player to understand that this is the right thing to do”.
Plates without controversy
Platesfor its part, he never argued in this regard, implicitly recognizing Norris’ greater experience and therefore his role as ‘first guide’, at least for the moment. “Of course it would be great if we could have both right away – the Australian commented in Suzuka, speaking to journalists – but I totally understand why Lando gets them. But, having said that, we try to keep the situation as fair as possible. In Zandvoort, I had the new rear wing first, so [è importante] that it’s not all one-way”.
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