McLaren flies to Australia with encouraging prospects after a good start to the season in Bahrain and Jeddah. Here’s what to expect from the team for the Melbourne event, where they face a new project in Albert Park.
McLaren is aiming to consolidate itself as the third-fastest team, ahead of Mercedes. So far in 2024, fine margins have determined this battle.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri stopped by the team headquarters after Saudi Arabia to analyse their progress. While team principal Andrea Stella said he was confident in their direction, he emphasised the importance of development.
After the first two rounds of the 2024 World Championship, McLaren and Mercedes for the role of third force.
Outside of Red Bull, most analysts agree that Ferrari made the biggest step over winter. That said, there is still confidence in Woking – despite the gap to Red Bull extending since the end of 2023.
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In both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the devil was in the details that separated McLaren and Mercedes.
However, the two teams are experiencing different times. In the Mercedes garage, there remains concern about a possible third project headed in the wrong direction.
Meanwhile, Zak Brown’s team is convinced they have a good foundation for future development. In line with this, the MCL38 will receive its first technical updates this weekend.
“Last week, I was back at the factory with my engineers to review the first two races before racing in Melbourne.
“We will put into practice everything we have learned and aim to get some more points for the team,” explained Lando Norris.
This weekend will present a new set of tasks for the Woking-based team to overcome.
Oscar Piastri also highlighted the importance of retracing what happened in the first two rounds of the season:
“Last week, I returned to the MTC to analyze all the data to see where we can maximize our performance.”
Piastri will undoubtedly be prepared to race on home turf in Melborune and build upon his result in Jeddah, where he finished in an excellent fourth place.
This weekend, teams will use the C5, the softest compound in the Pirelli range, for the first time in 2024.
It will be essential to find the right operating window for a qualifying perspective, especially since overtaking in Albert Park is often tricky.
Finding the optimal balance on a track with a mix of high-speed corners and slower sections will be essential. McLaren struggled with this compromise in round two.
In Jeddah, the MCL38 showed good speed in the high-speed section. However, a significant deficit emerged in terms of straight-line speed.
This was seen in the duel between Piastri and Hamilton, with the Australian spending several laps behind the W15 of the seven-time world champion.
On this front, the developments will be important, which in 2023 represented a clear change of pace for the English team.
“We end the first double-header of the season with good points and excellent performances on the track from Lando and Oscar.
“It is important to carry forward the momentum from the first two races,” said team principal Andrea Stella, “while focusing on the areas we still need to develop in order to be able to fight for the podium.”
