It was exactly a year ago when McLaren driver Lando Norris had stated, “I knew beforehand that we wouldn’t win championships” when the F1 world began speculating his departure as the team headed into the season with possibly the worst car on the grid. Though he stated he would be around for a few more years, he wasn’t too hopeful. Cut to 2024, the Brit has made a complete 180 even before the pre-season testing.

While people speculated Norris’ exit, others wondered if his new teammate Oscar Piastri underwent the whole Alpine drama for nothing. However, as the circus entered Azerbaijan, one of the two Papayas seemed different, but everyone still had their reservations. However, the duo went on to clinch multiple podiums together and the Australian rookie even managed to hold off the beastly combination of RB 19 and Max Verstappen in the Qatar Sprint. The biggest in-season turnaround is what seems to have given the older guy on the team immense confidence.

Talking to This Morning, when asked if he could break the 5-year-long dry spell to clinch his first F1 win, he said, “It’s my goal. It’s our goal. It’s my goal included. You never know. You never know what other teams come up with, what ideas, what fancy little things they’ve been able to make on the car. But if there’s any season I’ve had some confidence it’s gonna be this one because the team’s in the best place it has ever been. I feel I have been in the best place I have ever been.” 

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McLaren Boss Andrea Stella echoes Lando Norris’ emotions

The start of the 2023 campaign was hard and embarrassing for the entire British team, as their new challenger wasn’t even ready for a debut in Bahrain. However, they kept their head down and had a solid plan in place to overcome the lost prestige and points. And building on the same momentum, the team is now full of confidence, including TP Andrea Stella.

Talking to the media during the launch, Stella said, “The team is excited to present the MCL38 today and to see it on track for the first time. Going into this year, we look to build on the momentum of last season but are realistic in the knowledge that every team will have made progress and found competitiveness for their 2024 cars. We now have everything in place from an infrastructure, people, and culture perspective, so we continue to push forward and build on the work done to get us back to the front of the grid.”

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Do you think that McLaren with such a talented lineup and a promising MCL38 can become a championship contender?