McLaren hint at even better performance in upcoming races

McLaren have warned the rest of the field that there is more potential in the heavily upgraded MCL38.

Norris claimed his first ever race win in F1 on his 110th attempt (Image Credit: @McLarenF1 on X)

The Woking-based team picked up their first race win in Formula 1 since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix in Miami last weekend, helped by a safety car on lap 28.

McLaren brought upgrades to both cars in Miami. Whilst Lando Norris was given the fully upgraded package, his teammate Oscar Piastri was given around half of the updated components. Despite this, both cars showed outstanding pace throughout the race, Piastri only hampered by a collision with Carlos Sainz, forcing the Australian to pit for a new front wing.

After a collision between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant brought out the safety car, Norris found himself in the lead of the race having not made a pit stop so far. The Brit used this to his advantage, changing to a fresh set of hard compound tyres before opening the gap to Max Verstappen behind and claiming his first F1 victory.

However, according to PlanetF1, Norris’ Race Engineer Will Joseph said that despite the win the car looks even better suited to other circuits. He said after the Grand Prix: “We discussed at length what risks we were taking, and how we would try to put those risks aside. And, when things behave it is easy, and if things don’t behave then it’s difficult.

“But, we have faith in the process that we work to. And, we discuss this, and it builds and just comes together.

“The package should favour other circuits more than it does here in Miami. We shall see.”

WINNING. TEAM. #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/SY2v6lOYPM

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) May 6, 2024

 

Fighting at the top

Unlike the 2023 season, McLaren have made a scintillating start to their 2024 campaign.

After six races in 2023 the British outfit sat on 17 points in the World Constructors Championship, placing them sixth in the standings. However, fast forward a year and McLaren sit in third place, 60 points ahead of Mercedes in fourth and 63 points behind Ferrari in second.

McLaren have made outstanding progress since applying major upgrades to their car for the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix, and after the latest enhancements were made in Miami, they will be hoping to turn more podiums into race wins.

However, Autosport reported that after the race McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella was surprised by just how much the upgrades improved the car. The Italian engineer admitted that the team did not expect to be competing against Red Bull but knew that Norris would deliver when he had a race-winning car:

“We knew that the car was quick, [although] it’s a bit of a surprise. But we take it positively and we take it for the future as well”, Stella told Sky F1.

“The most important is the first victory for Lando because he deserved it so much.

“We always said that as soon as we give him the right material, he is going to make it, and he made it. For me, my thoughts are with the men and women at McLaren.”

Unlike Miami, McLaren could potentially have two cars challenging at the front of the field in Emilia Romagna. Piastri is set to be given the full upgrade package alongside Norris when the team travel to Imola in Italy for round seven, the first European round of the 2024.

Feature Image Credit: @McLarenF1 on X

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