"You actually compete for the 4th place": McLaren opine the top-3 teams currently too far ahead to compete for race wins

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella reckons the top three teams are currently out of reach for the Woking-based outfit. The team managed to finish the 2022 season in P5, losing out to Alpine in the closing stages of the season.

The team's main goal for the upcoming season is to snatch fourth place away from Alpine and then fight the top three teams. At the moment, Stella claims that competing for race wins is not the British formation's goal due to the massive jump from P4 to P3 in the constructors' title.

Alpine finished fourth last year with a massive gap of 342 points to Mercedes in third place. Meanwhile, the gap between the French team and McLaren was only 14 points, putting them in stiff competition all season long.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said:

"Our main goal is to keep improving, day by day. Realistically, we know with the top three teams at the moment, this could mean that you actually compete for the 4th place, and we would like to be in this position over the course of the season. We are realistic about the short term."

---

McLaren's Lando Norris could fight for wins in 2023, claims F1 analyst

Lando Norris could be fighting for his maiden race win in 2023 if McLaren can keep up with the best teams, claims former driver-turned-analyst Jolyon Palmer. The 23-year-old Briton had a splendid 2022 season — finishing seventh in the drivers' standings — with his ability to compete any higher up the grid limited only by his car.

In his most recent post-season column on F1's official website, Palmer praised Lando Norris for "another stellar season," writing:

"It was another stellar season for the McLaren driver, who barely put a foot wrong all campaign to finish comfortably best of the rest in the standings and almost single-handedly take the fight to Alpine in the Constructors’ Championship.”

Palmer hopes that the gap between the best teams and others will reduce next season. He expects that will help the McLaren driver have a realistic shot at his first win. He wrote:

“The gap between the best and the rest was bigger than anticipated in 2022, something I hope will close up from next season to give more of the midfielders opportunities. But it was only Norris who managed a podium outside of the top three teams, with his drive to third in Imola."

Lando Norris came close to winning a race in 2021 when a late rain shower in Sochi denied him a richly-deserved victory. The Briton is widely considered one of the best drivers on the grid despite not having won a single race. It will be interesting to see if the young driver can make it to the top step of the podium later this year.