Despite the significant difficulties McLaren faced earlier in the year, Lando Norris has declared that 2023 has been his best Formula 1 season to date.
The Woking team had a difficult 60th anniversary at first because they appeared to be a back marker team after their disappointing P17 and P20 in Bahrain to begin 2023.
Along with these difficulties, the team lost James Key and Andreas Seidl to Sauber, among other significant personnel changes.
At the British Grand Prix, Lando Norris secured the team’s first podium of the season. He then added another P2 finish to the team’s total in Hungary.
More top three placings would follow, and McLaren would achieve its first back-to-back double podium since 2010.
“It’s amazing how we can overlook the first segment, as this has been my best Formula 1 season since Austria,” Norris said to Sky Sports.
“Just in terms of driving, but also in terms of outcomes. We’ve had some fantastic races, and our car is finally able to maintain us at the front of the pack on a regular basis.
When you’re competing against Max, you’re competing against all these elite drivers, which alters the way you approach things.
“It’s not the same race as when you’re in the fifteenth or sixteenth place and such.” It’s been fantastic, I’m overjoyed, and I’m proud of our team for having figured out what it took to finally take that significant step.
However, we are also aware that there are still many things we need to accomplish. We should be able to take that next step next year if we continue to work hard at it.
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