F1 Report Card: A recovery drive to P4 for McLaren
11th December 2023After a dismal start to the Formula 1 2023 season, McLaren turned their fortunes around to finish strongly inside the top four, securing several podium finishes.
After a DNF and a car finishing two laps down, at the start of the season, mixed in with brake issues during the pre-season test, you would’ve rightly thought the Woking-based team would struggle to get away from the bottom of the standings. It would’ve been considered highly possible that the team would struggle all year.
Their first set of points brought them off the bottom of the constructor’s table where Lando Norris and, home hero, Oscar Piastri racked up a total of 12 points in Melbourne, Australia.
The team battled away through the early stages of the season fighting over points at the mid-to-lower end of the top 10. When Austria arrived, the team came in with its all-important major upgrade that changed their fortunes.
The difference between the pre and post-Austria car was significant as it allowed the team to battle at the sharp end of the field. Piastri and Norris found themselves often battling it out against the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes for a place in the top five grid slots.
In Qatar, Piastri took his first sprint race pole position which he followed up with a victory in the sprint race. Norris was a frequent attendee on the podium following the Austrian upgrades but lacked his inaugural win.
Understandably, had McLaren brought in their Austria-spec car at the beginning of the season it’s a strong argument they could have been fighting the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari for the runner-up positions.
Report: B-
Summary: Poor start to the season but made an extraordinary recovery to P4 in the constructors.
That’s all for the article; F1 Report Card: A recovery drive to P4 for McLaren!
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
