McLaren started the year without too many pretensions, in the wake of what it did in 2023 but with a much better start to the season. TO Suzuka in qualifying she also managed to conquer the front row with Lando Norris, however paying the price for the comparison with Ferrari in the race. At the moment that papaya is the third best car on the grid, ahead of Mercedes and the other motorized cars from the German company. In 2023 the updates made the MCL60 a finally complete machine, capable of attacking the podium on several occasions. The goal of Andrea Stella, McLaren team principal, is to repeat this evolution also in 2024, moving closer to Ferrari with the arrival of the first major developments, expected for Miami. Developments that the team had to wait longer than necessary last year, also due to a not exactly easy financial situation.
McLaren reignites the challenge with Ferrari
McLaren currently occupies third place in the constructors' standings with 69 points, 51 points behind Ferrari, which managed to bring home, in addition to the podiums, a victory and a double in Melbourne. The comparison between the two teams still leans heavily towards Ferrari which proved to be more fragile in qualifying but more solid in the race, where the points count. Andrea Stella, however, wants to make up ground as he believes that Ferrari is within reach, especially with an updated McLaren.
In an interview a F1Nation following the weekend in Japan the team principal then expressed his point of view: “To date it seems that we have lost this battle (with Ferrari), but we are working hard to be more competitive in the future. Ferrari isn't that far away, they're only a few tenths behind us. I think this year will be a battle of developments, because these cars can offer better performance thanks to development. I would say that's the main focus for us. We should have a good set of updates in Miami. Even if it's a Sprint weekend, we will definitely try to get them on track."
Regarding the race at Suzuka in which McLaren finished fifth with Lando Norris and eighth with Oscar Piastri, Stella admitted that he had other ambitions: “Our expectations were definitely to finish on the podium. We tried to finish on the podium because we stopped first with Lando to make sure we maintained track position, but in the end we didn't have enough pace to maintain track position.”
Source statements: F1
