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Listen to this article The Woking outfit has expanded its racing operations considerably in recent years after fresh investment over the previous two years, starting with it taking a majority shareholding in the Schmidt Peterson Racing IndyCar team ahead of the 2020 season - which now races as Arrow McLaren. It has also diversified its interests by extending its reach into electric racing, setting up an Extreme E team prior to its purchase of the title-winning Mercedes Formula E team ahead of the 2022-23 season. In a roundtable at the Mexico City E-Prix with selected media, Brown says the focus is now on ensuring that each team is self-sufficient through results and reach for potential partners. Asked by Motorsport.com if there was the prospect of further growth into other categories, Brown added that although McLaren continues to do its due diligence on the prospect of a WEC entry, it would need to balance with the current teams it has. "Yeah, we're very busy with the … [Read more...] about WEC entry still “under review” but McLaren “not ready for it yet”

Despite not having the “best entry” onto the Formula 1 grid, Romain Grosjean is keen to see what Oscar Piastri can achieve in his first season on the grid. Last year Piastri found himself at the heart of Formula 1’s silly season as Alpine and McLaren vied for his services. While Alpine announced the reserve driver as Fernando Alonso’s replacement in early August, Piastri responded by taking to social media to refute that saying he “will not be driving for Alpine” in 2023. Instead, it was speculated at the time, he had already signed a contract with McLaren. As the saga played out, the Enstone team took the Australian and McLaren before F1’s Contract Recognition Board in a final attempt to sign him. The Board ruled that the only valid contract for 2023 was between Piastri and McLaren. Alpine went onto accuse him of being disloyal and thinking he was better than the Williams seat they were initially trying to secure for him. Piastri largely remained silent throughout it all … [Read more...] about Romain Grosjean: Oscar Piastri has not had ‘the best entry’ into F1 with McLaren-Alpine saga

Oscar Piastri has said he is ready to “get stuck in” during his rookie season, while learning as much as he can about the world of Formula 1. The consecutive Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula 3 and Formula 2 title winner comes into the top tier after a year on the motorsport sidelines as Alpine’s reserve driver, to partner Lando Norris and form the youngest combined driver line-up on the grid this upcoming season at McLaren. Team CEO Zak Brown has spoken before about hoping the young Australian will have a short period of ‘race rustiness’ as he gets used to being back among a full field of cars again, but he has already taken part in multiple McLaren tests as he prepares for life at his new team, replacing Daniel Ricciardo for the year ahead. The 21-year-old is now raring to go for his time as a Formula 1 driver, but he added that good results would be a “bonus” at this stage. “It’s nice to see the beast alive,” Piastri said in an interview with McLaren after their 2023 … [Read more...] about Oscar Piastri on his F1 2023 goal as he prepares to ‘get stuck in’ at McLaren

Having previously confirmed he had spoken with rival teams before re-signing with McLaren, Lando Norris says he’ll do it again when his current contract expires in 2025. Norris arrived on the Formula 1 grid in 2019, the Briton signing with McLaren but not before speaking with Red Bull Racing. That, though, wasn’t the last time he held informal talks with Christian Horner, doing so again before putting pen to paper on a new deal in early 2022. His latest contract runs through to 2025, Norris signing it before even seeing the new cars in action which raised a few eyebrows . “It was surprising that he signed such a long contract at the start of his career,” former F1 driver turned pundit Jenson Button Sky Sports F1. “We all want to be team players but you never know where the team is going to be in three years.” Norris has defended his decision, saying he wanted to avoid the need to have conversations with rival teams as all the drivers do before signing a contract. … [Read more...] about Lando Norris explains why he agreed a long-term contract with McLaren

If Ferrari can bounce back from a win-less season to be the second-best team under the new ground effect aerodynamic regulations, Lando Norris says there is no reason McLaren cannot set the same goal. Formula 1 introduced brand new cars last season, making sweeping changes to the technical regulations with the intention of putting cars on the track that created a cleaner wake that would allow the car behind to follow more easily than their predecessors. Despite the new regulations the sport’s top three remained the same, just a change in the order with Red Bull winning both championships ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes. But while Ferrari failed to win either championship, they did at least win grands prix, four flags mounted outside the team’s Maranello headquarters. Charles Leclerc’s P1 at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix marked Ferrari’s first race win since 2019 and Norris is taking inspiration from it. According to the Briton, if Ferrari can capitalise on the new … [Read more...] about Lando Norris tells McLaren ‘to do a better job with making a better car’

A respected Formula 1 observer believes the battle between McLaren’s Lando Norris and Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso promises to be among the tastiest rivalries of the 2023 season. Norris will enter his fifth season at McLaren in 2023, while Alonso is to begin his first in the colours of Aston Martin having replaced four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel over the winter. Both teams endured a challenging start to F1’s ground effect era in 2022, with McLaren beaten to fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship by Alpine, Alonso’s former employers, and Aston Martin finishing a lowly seventh. With McLaren and Aston Martin expected to fight at the head of the midfield this year, former Williams and Ferrari team manager Peter Windsor feels the battle between the Mercedes customer teams could come down to how Norris fares against ex-McLaren man Alonso. Speaking via his Twitch stream , he said: “Lando is in an interesting situation now because McLaren, for a start, need … [Read more...] about Fernando Alonso ‘will not be easy to beat’ for McLaren and Lando Norris in F1 2023

Few would doubt his talent but Lando Norris believes he is still some way off from competing for a Formula 1 World Championship. It is easy to think of Norris as a veteran of the F1 grid but at the age of 23, only one driver was younger than him on the grid in 2022. Like his junior career was, every year of Norris’ four seasons in the pinnacle of motorsport has been an improvement on the last. In 2019, he scored his first points. In 2020, he stood atop the podium for the first time and in 2021, he improved that tally to four including a career-high P2 at Monza. But while 2022 saw him stagnate with just a single podium and 38 points fewer than he acquired the year previous, there are few who would argue that was down to the ability of Norris. The Brit has been occupying the ‘best of the rest’ category for a while now, picking up six seventh place finishes in 2022, but while some say a title battle is soon on the horizon, Norris himself is a little more hesitant. “With … [Read more...] about Lando Norris predicting a lengthy wait before first F1 title challenge

Pierre Gasly against Esteban Ocon at Alpine is one of the big F1 duels we are all looking forward to in 2023, but the new Alpine driver does not see what the fuss is about when their fractious relationship is spoken of. The two grew up racing each other and have not always got along well, but they will be lining up together in an all-French pairing at France’s Formula 1 team next season, and plenty of eyes are going to be on how they work together for the common good at Alpine. Gasly has been keen to play down any talk of tension between them, however. “I think this is a subject that is talked about far too often,” he told the French edition of Motorsport.com . “We get along well. We may not be best friends, but we can go through a door together. “When I go over the paddock and the relationships between other team-mates, there are certainly relationships that are worse than ours. If the relationship between Esteban and me needs to be discussed, you can talk about 60 per cent … [Read more...] about Six F1 teams which could have more team-mate tension than Ocon v Gasly

After one year of racing the new ground effect aerodynamic cars, James Key says the arrival of porpoising and the loss of the slipstreaming effect were the two big takeaways. Last season Formula 1 introduced ground effect aerodynamic cars, the biggest overhaul in the sport’s regulations since swapping to V6 engines back in 2014. The new regulations caught many of the teams out as they found their cars bouncing around the circuits, some such as Mercedes suffering worse than others. That came as a surprise to former F1 managing director Ross Brawn given that porpoising is a consequence of using ground effect aerodynamics to create downforce. “We’ve all experienced it,” the Englishman told F1TV after pre-season testing. “It is prevalent, it’s a phenomenon, it’s physics .” He added: “I thought they would have anticipated it from their wind tunnel work.’ Key agrees it is something the teams should have foreseen. Highlighting his two big takeaways from 2022, he said: “I … [Read more...] about James Key highlights ‘two things’ F1 ‘missed’ in the all-new technical regulations