Lando Norris said that Red Bull and Max Verstappen are "beatable" in 2024 and that he believes he can lead McLaren to a Formula One world title. Last year, McLaren surprised everyone by coming in closest to Red Bull after a remarkable mid-season comeback in which Norris finished on seven podiums. Team Principal Andrea Stella stated at the introduction of the new MCL38 car that while defeating Red Bull could be difficult if McLaren continues to develop at the same pace in 2024, the team might be in a very strong position.
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Stella clarified, "I think I expect that Red Bull will keep enjoying some advantage at the start of the season." "Last year, they didn't make many changes to the car. It makes sense, in my opinion, that they would have developed and acquired some knowledge in the previous year, which will be utilized for the 2024 vehicle. That's what I'm hoping for. Having said that, I believe that, when we look at McLaren and ourselves, if we maintain the development rate we had in 2023, which we should have on the car by 2024, then we should be in a strong position.”
Lando Norris aligns with Stella and acknowledges that, although he is certain that McLaren can defeat Red Bull in specific situations, the challenge will be maintaining an advantage over them more frequently.
Oscar Piastri, who won the Qatar Sprint in 2023 during his Formula 1 debut season, also expressed optimism about McLaren's chances in the race, which he believes will also include Mercedes and Ferrari by stating, "You have to believe that you can defeat them." As Lando mentioned, “during some sessions we succeeded in getting very close at certain points”s.
As Andrea mentioned, “I believe we can have a great deal of optimism if we can maintain the current rate of development. But we also need to realize that we're up against more than just Red Bull. Particularly in the latter part of the year, we were engaged in a fierce battle with Mercedes and Ferrari. We were extremely close to each other in the second half of the season in terms of championship points. We have to be cautious because we are all teams that have experienced great success at different points in time. In addition to Red Bull, I believe there will be other elite teams that are advancing as well.” Soon, on February 21–23, the Bahrain International Circuit will host pre-season testing, giving all 10 teams their first opportunity to compete.
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