2024 Formula 1: Who are the drivers and team principal for McLaren F1?

McLaren is currently in a better position compared to the last two F1 seasons. Thanks to their new simulator and wind tunnel, they are now able to contend at the front of the grid. Additionally, the team’s driver lineup and upgrade package have significantly contributed to their recovery from past struggles. McLaren’s dedication to innovation and development has positioned them well for the upcoming 2024 season.

Preparing the season with an advantage

McLaren is the only team, other than Red Bull, that has been able to predict the car direction in 2023. The team has had the second-fastest car in the second half of the season, which puts them in a better position to continue developing the car compared to their competitors like Ferrari and Mercedes. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are the duo for McLaren this season. Despite Lando’s contract extension beyond 2025, the team is, some will say, taking risks with the young Australian Piastri.

Oscar Piastri has displayed his potential in his debut season, proving that he can comPete with the best in F1 after some minor improvements to his Game. He has even challenged Lando Norris at a few races. With a 12-month database to rely on this season, he is expected to be more consistent, which could result in a closer battle between the two drivers. However, this could also lead to a scenario where the two drivers clash.

Lando Norris

Lando Norris believes that McLaren has not made significant progress ahead of the 2024 season as he and the team had hoped. The British driver has admitted that the team may face some challenges at this weekend’s opening race in Bahrain. Now in his sixth season in F1, Norris has established himself as one of the best drivers on the grid, and he’s still only 24 years old.

“I think it’s clear [who] the top two [are], then there’s a bit of a bunch behind, which is Mercedes, Aston [Martin] and us. But in terms of how the pre-season test went, it was a lot better than last year and we’re in a much better position than last year, so that’s the most important thing.”

McLaren’s CEO Zak Brown

Since joining the company, McLaren CEO Zak Brown has always been up for the challenge of meeting high expectations for the team. Although the team managed to win one race in Monza in 2021, they struggled until the second half of 2023.

“Ambition is to win races this year. No surprise, the record appears extremely strong again. Obviously, we’ve done a great job over the winter with the racing car. Nine podiums last year. It would be nice to be able to get one further step towards the top, So we certainly want to start where we finished and progress over the season. See no reason why, if we can keep up the development that we’ve had since the summer of last year, we should be in a position to get on that top step shortly,” said the McLaren CEO in his statement to GP Blog.