Lando Norris and McLaren are hoping to take the fight to Max Verstappen and Red Bull in 2024 following a strong end to last year.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has revealed that the team’s launch version of their 2024 challenger, the MCL38, has not solved all of the issues they were looking to address. This will come as frustrating news to Lando Norris, who is looking to take the fight to reigning champions Red Bull and Max Verstappen.
The team from Woking is entering 2024 with strong momentum following an impressive turnaround in the previous season.
Despite starting with the least competitive car, McLaren managed to outpace their competitors through development and ended the season with a competitive car capable of regularly challenging for podium finishes.
Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri together earned nine podium finishes, which helped them surpass Aston Martin in the Constructors’ Championship to secure fourth place. The team has higher ambitions for 2024.
According to Stella, however, some patience may be needed. Speaking after the launch of the MCL38, he said: “We now have everything in place from an infrastructure, people and culture perspective so we continue to push forward and build on the work done to get us back to front of the grid.
“Before we hit the track for competitive sessions, we have a lot of work to do, including putting the MCL38 through its paces during the Bahrain pre-season test. The team has done a good job over the winter, and we are confident we can hit the ground running, but we know we have important tasks at hand before the season starts.
There are a number of innovations on the car, but not all the areas we want to address have been completed for our launch-spec car. Those areas now become the focus of our in-season development, which is already in progress.”
Star driver Norris, who signed a long-term contract extension with McLaren in January after the team successfully rebuffed interest from Red Bull, will likely be frustrated by the need to wait for in-season updates. The 24-year-old came in second place six times in 2023 and is still striving to achieve his first Grand Prix win. The longer he searches, the more evident his frustration becomes.
Nonetheless, if the advancement made by McLaren under Stella during the previous season is anything to go by, Norris seems to be in a favorable position for the approaching season. It will be crucial for the Woking-based team to start off faster than competitors Mercedes, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in Bahrain as they aim to compete against Red Bull and Verstappen in the current year.