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McLaren has confirmed February 13th, 2023, as the launch date for its F1 challenger for the upcoming season. The team will be hoping to bounce back after a somewhat disappointing start to the ground-effect era. It could only score one podium last season, but what was even more alarming was McLaren dropping another position in the midfield and finishing 5th.
The team will also be hoping to overcome another adversity as former team principal Andreas Seidl decided to switch teams and move to Alfa Romeo. Seidl's move was more a case of the incoming German automotive Audi luring him away for its F1 operations.
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At McLaren, the team will have newcomer Oscar Piastri in his rookie season. The Australian has been touted as a prodigious talent and rated very highly across the paddock. Piastri joins the Woking-based squad after spending a year on the sidelines. Before that, the Australian had won three titles in three years on his way to F1.
He will replace Daniel Ricciardo and partner with Lando Norris in what should be a very young partnership. After spending a year on the backfoot in 2022, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a marked improvement this season from its challenger.
We underachieved in 2022: McLaren driver Lando Norris
In a recent interview, Lando Norris admitted that the Woking-based squad had fallen short of its expectations from the season. 2022 saw the team score a lone podium and slip behind Alpine in the midfield. This was a disappointing step back for the team after the highs of the 2021 F1 season where the team secured a '1-2' finish and a pole position.
Looking back at the season, Norris said:
"If I think of before the season, did we achieve in 2022 what we should've done as McLaren? Honestly, it's no. If we want to do well and want to be champions and some point - and we want to win races - we can't be satisfied with where we have been this season. But we can certainly be satisfied with the progress we've made, from the mechanics, without pit stops, our strategy... It's just that we need a slightly better car."
The Woking-based squad is surely under pressure right now. Andreas Seidl has been replaced by Andrea Stella and that is a big change. The team was looking to make inroads at the front in 2022, so it will be interesting to see what it achieves this season.
