Stella Offers Insight into McLaren’s Pre-Season Progress with the MCL-38’s Introduction in Bahrain
Ahead of the MCL-38’s first outing in Bahrain for pre-season trials, McLaren’s Team Principal, Andrea Stella, has provided some perspective on the team’s off-season progress.
Stella pointed out that while Red Bull might maintain their competitive advantage early in the season, McLaren’s pace of development could position them well to contend at several races throughout the year.
The MCL-38 was initially tested at Silverstone during a shakedown ahead of its journey to Bahrain for further testing.
After a challenging start to the 2023 season, which began with mechanical issues leading to a double DNF, the team based in Woking is aiming for a more auspicious commencement this year.
McLaren supporters had been cautioned to temper their expectations for the MCL-60’s first performance. Nevertheless, the onset of 2024 has sparked optimism among the McLaren fan base, with Stella indicating the team’s potential to disrupt Red Bull’s anticipated supremacy.
In a conversation with F1, Stella stated: “I think, at the start of the season, my expectation is that Red Bull will keep enjoying some advantage.
“They didn’t develop the car very much last year. I would think that it’s reasonable to expect that they will have accumulated, let’s say, some knowledge and development last year that will be capitalized onto the 2024 car. That’s my expectation.
“Saying that, I think looking at ourselves, looking at McLaren, if – and I say if – we keep the development rate we had in 2023 that we will have hopefully on the 2024 car, if we keep this development rate, then I think we can be in a strong position.”
He added, “Whether that’s enough to challenge Red Bull and the other top teams, [who] certainly will have made good improvements.
“We will find out, but we think that this is a strong development rate. But like I said, it’s now up to us to try and consolidate over time.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris Secured Seven Podium Finishes in the 2023 Season Despite an Initial Setback
Lando Norris, the McLaren driver, marked a significant achievement with seven podium finishes throughout the 2023 season, overcoming a less than ideal beginning. However, the British driver is still in pursuit of his first victory in Formula 1, a milestone he aims to reach in 2024.
Norris has shown unwavering support for his team, emphasizing that maintaining a positive outlook will be crucial in narrowing the gap to Red Bull. Nevertheless, he acknowledges the challenge that lies ahead, admitting that surpassing Red Bull over the span of the season will be “difficult.”
The Brit added “If you were to say, ‘are they beatable?’ you’re going to have to say yes.”
“I think we want to believe to say yes, because we were very close at certain times [last year] and at certain times we did beat them.
“The question is can we beat them over a season? I think that’s going to be the challenging thing, and I think it’s going to be very difficult to do with how well they’re performing. So yeah, [I’m] optimistic. [Is it] possible to beat them at certain times? I want to believe so, yeah.”
