2023 McLaren F1 team: CEO Zak Brown | Drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
McLaren hope to improve in 2023, following a less than ideal 2022. Having revealed their car along with some key in-house changes, the team is now looking forward.
Having unveiled the MCL60 - named in honor of the team’s 60th anniversary - ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season, McLaren will see Lando Norris joined by F1 rookie Oscar Piastri to form the youngest driver partnership on the grid. Other changes have seen Andrea Stella take the place of Andreas Seidl as the team’s principle.
Introducing the MCL60 & Oscar Piastri
When the MCL60 was revealed at the McLaren Technology Centre back in mid-February, the car appeared to be quite similar to its predecessor, however, there were distinctly more black areas, which of course follows the latest trend of reducing weight via paint removal. Yet, perhaps the most notable change was the man standing alongside McLaren’s No.1 driver, Lando Norris, who was rookie and new teammate, Oscar Piastri. Indeed, the 21-year-old Australian has joined the team following the exit of Daniel Ricciardo last season.
Piastri’s signing of course, represents a bold move on McLaren’s part, however, given their fifth-place finish in 2022, perhaps bold moves are the requirement going forward. “We are delighted to launch our 2023 Formula One team with Lando and Oscar at the wheel as we celebrate 60 years of McLaren Racing,” CEO Zak Brown said. “This year’s driver line-up is extremely exciting as Lando, an intelligent and confident driver with excellent pace, is joined by one of the biggest up-and-coming talents in motorsport with Oscar. To be clear, Piastri is the first driver in history to win Formula Renault, Formula 3 and Formula 2 back-to-back-to-back. Needless to say, expectations are high.
What about Lando Norris?
Despite the underwhelming result at the end of the 2022 season, the one real bright spark for McLaren was the continued level of Lando Norris’ performance, which is to say it was excellent. Now in his fifth season in F1, Norris has established himself as one of the best drivers on the grid and he’s still only 23-years-old.
“The off-season has been good but I’m looking forward to getting back on track and behind the wheel of the MCL60 for the first time,” Norris said. “The new car looks great, and everyone involved in the build has played an important role. ...This is my fifth year in F1 and I’m hoping to carry positive momentum into the new season after a year of racing under the new era of regulations. It’s been a good challenge adapting to them and I feel that I’m in a positive position to keep on improving as a driver.”
McLaren’s Zak Brown addresses fans
Never one to shy away from the high expectations placed on the team, McLaren CEO, Zak Brown, addressed fans directly in an open letter which was more cautious than it was confident.
“Despite Lando securing a podium at Imola, we acknowledge that our finishing position in 2022 – fifth – is not where we want to be, but we come into the new season with a realistic perspective,” he wrote. “Last weekend we completed our pre-season testing in Bahrain ahead of the first round. While we didn’t get as many laps in as we would have liked due to addressing minor issues on both cars during sessions, it was a decent three days in the new MCL60s that yielded a lot of useful data, which we will be analyzing this week. Rest assured, improving our performance over the course of the season is a key priority and the team are working together to bring further developments to the track as soon as possible. That said, we know there is more that we can get out of the existing package, and we’re looking ahead to the first F1 race of the season in Bahrain with great anticipation. ...Under the guidance of Andrea Stella, we have an excellent team to spearhead the 2023 season and can look forward to seeing our young driver duo continue to grow their partnership throughout the upcoming campaign.”