(Motorsports news) In 2023, McLaren failed to score a point for three rounds as it struggled to regain competitive form from its car. However, recent races have seen a number of improvements for both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, allowing the former to win back-to-back second-place finishes while Piastri finished in the top five.
Russell thinks McLaren is a real threat in the battle for the best-of-the-rest spots behind runaway leaders Red Bull, despite being some 136 points behind Mercedes in second place in the constructors standings. The Woking team, according to Russell, “is clearly a real contender for the second fastest team.” It’s strange how blatantly inferior Aston Martin was at the beginning of the year.
They don’t appear to be as competitive right now, either. Ferrari hasn’t advanced too far. And McLaren has advanced significantly. Therefore, we would be really happy with the development we are making if it weren’t for McLaren. Pulling a distance on our competitors as the midfield advances, we are closing in on Red Bull. “McLaren just threw it into the mix completely. However, it makes you hopeful that bigger strides may yet be possible.
“I have faith in my group. I believe it offers us hope and assurance that we can make the transition to Red Bull. We don’t really pay too much attention to McLaren, Aston Martin, or Ferrari. Our attention is on Red Bull. And that’s the huge step we’re attempting. In the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend, Russell made a tremendous comeback from 18th on the starting grid, finishing sixth at the line after being informed by Mercedes strategists that 11th looked most likely.
George Russell was happy with the outcome but feels it was “proof” that Hungary was a “missed opportunity”. When questioned, Russell responded, “The strategies were telling me this morning P11 is most realistic and P7 if we maximize everything. “It was a really great result to finish in P6 without a safety car or VSC.”
“However, there is also evidence that this weekend was likely a squandered opportunity. Given that this is one of my favorite circuits and where the car consistently performs well, I’m convinced that I could have been up there with Lewis yesterday.
“And fighting for P2 gives you a lot more alternatives when there are two cars up there, and Lewis was pretty good as well. And if events had turned out a little differently, he would have also been P2. We will take this as a squandered opportunity and move on. The good news is that we are outpacing Aston Martin and Ferrari.
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