The McLaren Racing Formula One team has a lot to be proud of in 2023 after a slow start to the season they really picked up the pace and to their credit did a fantastic job to secure fourth place in the Constructors championship.
Oscar Piastri did a fantastic job in his rookie season to end the year with a victory having won a sprint race and has the label of being the most successful rookie driver since Lewis Hamilton in 2007. Speaking following the action in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Team Principal Andrea Stella commented saying
We would have liked to finish on the podium for the final race of the season, but today we simply didn’t have enough pace. This doesn’t detract from this having been an incredible season. It has been an amazing turnaround which was made possible by everybody’s hard work. To finish fourth in the Championship with nine podiums, achieve a victory in the Sprint race, three more podiums in the Sprint race, two pole positions in the Sprint Shootout, and deliver the fastest pit stop in history is a great achievement for the team. All of this was made possible by the work, commitment, effort and the talent of the men and women at McLaren and our colleagues at HPP. I am so proud and so thankful to all team members.
“This is a strong foundation for the future, and we can’t wait to confirm this next season. Thanks to our fans, sponsors and partners that have been so supportive and enthusiastic. We are on this journey together and we look forward to the next phase.
McLaren finished the season 302 points, 22 ahead of the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One team and speaking following a well earned fifth place finish in the race, Lando Norris commented saying:
Tough race! Not the pace that we wanted but we did what we could to score important points to finish the season. We lost out a position in the pit stop so a little bit of a shame, but otherwise, I think I did what I could, we were just not quite strong enough today.
“Overall, we can be happy with how everything has gone because we’ve done what we needed to do as a team by securing P4 in the Constructors’ Championship. We have had plenty of ups from the start of the season, the last few months have been great for the team, and we’ll take that momentum into the winter to come back stronger next year.
“Thank you to all the team at track and back at MTC who have worked hard this season to give us a car which is able to compete towards the front of the grid. We have made some memories this year and I’m looking forward to pushing on together in 2024.
Oscar Piastri can be proud of his rookie season in Formula One having finished the year in ninth place in the championship on 97 points which gives him something to build on for 2024. Speaking following his sixth place finish in the race on Sunday, Piastri said:
“It was a slightly tricky day today, but P4 in the Constructors’ is still a very good effort.
“We know we want to aim for more than that next year, but I’ve enjoyed my first year of F1 a hell of a lot. There’s been some great highlights, some trickier moments but it’s all part of the experience. I’m looking forward to some time off now.
“Thank you to the team trackside and in Woking, thank you to all the fans for sticking with us on our rollercoaster this year and we’ll be back fighting for more next year.”