Lando Norris is “happy” with McLaren’s 2023 season despite enduring a “tough” Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Having blown a chance to start on the front row after a mistake on his final lap in Qualifying, Norris recovered from fifth to third at the start but a mistake during his first pit stop and a late clash with Sergio Perez cost him a podium finish and fourth in the drivers’ standings.
Reflecting upon what he described as a “tough race” to end the season, Norris commented: “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.”
This season though has seen huge progress from McLaren who began the campaign with a slow car until a major upgrade came in Austria, which saw them turn their season around to finish fourth in the Constructors’ standings.
Addressing that upturn in form across the season with nine podiums in total across Sprints and Grands Prix, Norris added: “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.”
McLaren Team Principal, Andrea Stella echoed Norris’ sentiments but iterated that their lack of pace in Abu Dhabi “… doesn’t detract from this having been an incredible season.”
Stella also paid tribute to the team for their efforts as he continued: “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.”
Looking ahead to next season and beyond, Stella believes that this season has laid “… a strong foundation for the future, and we can’t wait to confirm this next season. We are on this journey together and we look forward to the next phase.”
Leave a Reply