McLaren Spotted Bringing $150,000 Worth ‘Real Upgrade’ for Lando Norris, but Their Timing Has Been Deemed Ill-Judged

Sabyasachi Biswas | 30/06/2023
McLaren Spotted Bringing $150,000 Worth 'Real Upgrade' for Lando Norris, but Their Timing Has Been Deemed Ill-Judged

As per recent developments, McLaren is reportedly bringing massive upgrades at the upcoming Austrian GP. The British team has long been waiting to bring these upgrades to boost their performance, and it is finally time they decided on it.

Even though things might look bright for the Papayas, they might not. As Fernando Alonso has already mentioned about the issues about bringing upgrades in a sprint weekend, it is widely believed that this was not a race where such a huge upgrade should have been brought.

Moreover, the absence of two Free Practices also makes things incredibly trickier to get all the upgrades in place with the perfect settings.

Furthermore, Norris was also asked about it by Mari Becker and the British driver wasn’t sure how much big the upgrade package will be at Red Bull Ring, the home race of the Red Bull Racing.

McLaren played a gamble

As per FIA-accredited journalist Giuliano Duchessa, the crews at the Papayas were spotted with a brand new floor for one of its MCL60.

Duchessa revealed the image on his official Twitter handle and it is believed the brand-new floor might be worth at least $300,000. [with added costs]

However, the upgrades are only meant for Lando Norris’s MCL60. His teammate Oscar Piastri, on the other hand, will have the upgrades in Silverstone.

Admittedly, the British team has notified F1 that they will bring updates to the Sidepod inlet, Halo, Floor body, Engine cover, and Cooling Louvres.

“Milestone” upgrades by Woking Brigade and its future

As one MCL60 is going to have the expensive and “milestone” upgrade at Red Bull Ring, McLaren would try to improve on their lap times and get closer to the teams ahead.

With the front runners Red Bull, Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Ferrari out of reach, the P5 is the possible destination for the British team.

The target for P5 will be a direct aim against Alpine, the team they competed fiercely last season. Currently, the Woking-based team is 27 points behind Alpine after eight races.

All in all, the Papayas will look to close the gap as soon as possible with these major upgrades in upcoming races in Austria, Silverstone, and Hungaroring, and challenge the French team for P5 in the Constructors’ championship.

Post Edited By: Pritam Priyedarshi
Lando Norris

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Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

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