After ‘Red Bull Lookalike’ Jibe, Toto Wolff Hypocritically Lauds Lando Norris & Co. for Surprise Heroics Ahead of Home Grand Prix

If someone had told a McLaren fan at the start of the season that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri would qualify second and third at the British GP—only the tenth race of the season—they wouldn’t have believed it. But right now, all they can do is believe because that really happened. The McLaren duo is lining up in P2 and P3 for the Woking team’s home race, and it’s a testament to the amount of work it’s put in since the start of the season to improve. 

This came after McLaren’s second round of upgrades as part of its major upgrade overhaul that it introduced at the Austrian GP last weekend. With an upgraded MCL60 under him, Lando Norris got his best result of the season so far with a P4 and looked forward to carrying the momentum into McLaren and his home race. And much to the surprised delight of McLaren fans, the momentum has continued. McLaren’s updates seem to be working, and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff guessed why.

Toto Wolff thinks the RB19 and the upgraded MCL60 are very similar

The updates McLaren brought in Austria included brand new side pods, a floor, and an engine cover, among other modifications. And as part of its further updated package in Silverstone, the MCL60 has a new nose and front wing. All these new elements seem to work well, especially after McLaren’s performance during qualifying. But Toto Wolff had an interesting suggestion as to why the team has seemingly made such a big step.

In an interview after qualifying, as quoted by speedweek.com, Wolff said, “What you see from the outside, and of course that’s only half the truth, is that the car is like a Red Bull lookalike.” He claimed, just like Lewis Hamilton, that the side pods of the new MCL60 are practically the same as the ones on the RB19, which is one of the primary reasons the car is working so well and is that close to Red Bull.

Either way, he recognized and appreciated McLaren for the step it’s taken in the past couple of weeks. He continued, “Another team has just found a second with it, so we can’t leave anything untried. Overall, it’s very encouraging to see Aston Martin finding so much time over the winter and McLaren showing they can do it this season. You have to take your hat off to that. For us, this is a good example of how to turn things around.”

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McLaren seems to have turned things around and has become a strong contender against Mercedes, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in their attempts to close the gap with Red Bull. So far, the Woking outfit’s showing at the British GP has contradicted what Norris claimed after Friday’s running.

Lando Norris wasn’t too confident about McLaren’s performance in Silverstone

The upgrades at Austria saw McLaren jump from fighting at the back of the midfield to competing amongst the front runners. While the team hoped to continue its good run of form in Silverstone, Lando Norris quickly dismissed any high expectations after the practice sessions on Friday. He said, “We’re probably not at the same level as we were in Austria, but we know we can get more out of the car.”

The McLaren duo got more out of the car, indeed. After the best qualifying performance in his 10 races in F1, Oscar Piastri mentioned in the post-qualifying interview that the car didn’t look as good on Friday as it felt. He knew there was a pace to be found on Saturday, and both the McLarens found it. Norris would sure be happy to have not been entirely right about his claims on Friday.

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Could McLaren convert its spectacular qualifying performance into a podium or two in the race?