With the debut of their 2024 livery, McLaren has taken the lead in the launch season. They will officially unveil their MCL38 car during a shakedown at Silverstone on February 14. After the new McLaren livery was unveiled, team boss Zak Brown highlighted his goals for the forthcoming Formula 1 season. After the Woking-based team's outstanding winter performance in the second part of 2023, Brown had nothing but praise for the team.
A technical reorganisation was carried out by McLaren under the direction of Team Principal Andrea Stella following difficulties encountered at the start of the 2023 season. In addition, the squad made several major upgrades in the middle of the season, which were crucial in changing their performance. After making this tactical change, McLaren was once again a serious contender for podium results. They ended up on the podium seven times, including five times in the last eight races, for the season. Thus, McLaren finished the season in a respectable fourth position in the constructors' standings, just behind Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari, having surpassed Aston Martin in the latter stages.
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"I’m feeling confident," said McLaren CEO Zak Brown. "I think all the men and women at McLaren have done a fantastic job in the off-season. Of course, there will be continued development [with the car], so we’re not done, we’re just done with our launch spec car – expect continued improvement over the course of the year. Clearly, we want to continue to close the gap [to the front]. I think we finished up last year as the second or third-quickest team, [depending on] which circuit you were at. Red Bull certainly seems like they didn’t develop last year to the level they could if they wanted to, so that could be an unpleasant surprise for all of us!"
F1: McLaren MCL38
Although Red Bull dominantly won both titles last season, they faced formidable competition from McLaren, who edged out their long-time rivals Mercedes and Ferrari. The MCL38, McLaren's next F1 car, will be revealed on February 14th, but the team has given us a look at its colour scheme through some new photographs. The car design, though, is still a mystery. Following McLaren's successful 2023 season, in which they finished fourth in the constructors' standings and won seven of the last eight races, excitement is building. A strong development drive was the driving force behind this victory, and it has put McLaren in a strong position to challenge Red Bull for the second-fastest team.
With the start of the new year, McLaren added two key members to its technical division: David Sanchez, who assumed the position of technical director for vehicle concept and performance, and Rob Marshall, who was named technical director for engineering and design. Improving the team's technical abilities shows that they are serious about continuing to build on last year's achievement.
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After revealing some details about McLaren's new car, Team Principal Andrea Stella stressed the need to forget over last year's mistakes. In addition, he hinted at the promising future that awaits McLaren in the forthcoming Formula 1 season by discussing the untapped potential of their chosen development path.
"So far, I have to say we don’t see the diminishing returns,” he said of McLaren’s development outlook for 2024 following last year’s surge. “This obviously will have to be proven once we put the car on the ground. That’s also where I would expect the launch car to be, at the start of the season, and we are already starting to work on the further developments that we hope to bring relatively soon in-season – and they also seem to be quite interesting."
As the new season draws near, reigning world champion Max Verstappen is keeping a close eye on McLaren and has voiced his trust in their ability to become a serious force from the start. Verstappen thinks McLaren might become a serious competitor in the next season after their incredible progress in 2023, which he calls the "most impressive" makeover.
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