McLaren F1 Team: How McLaren managed a podium finish at Austrian GP despite financial crunch?

McLaren F1 Team: How McLaren pulled a podium finish despite facing financial predicaments before the start of the season.

The first race of the 2020 season is done and dusted, and what a ride it was. The Austrian GP had just 11 cars out of 20 finishing the race, with penalties to Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton right at the end.

McLaren benefited the most, with Ferrari-bound Carlos Sainz finishing 5th, and Norris grabbing his first career podium. They are 2nd in the Constructors Championship, right behind dominant Mercedes. But this wasn’t easy for McLaren at all.

McLaren barely survived insolvency

The SportsRush had reported earlier, as per Forbes, how McLaren was facing insolvency issues and could bow out of F1. 

McLaren was facing massive financial losses as their revenue fell from $217.7 million to $136.2 million. They have sold just a third of its road cars in the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2019 Q1.

They eventually survived, with a 150 million loan from the National Bank of Bahrain. Now it was back to the paddocks.

McLaren F1 Team- Constructors of the Weekend

Both Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz were doing decently well in the practice sessions. The former had finished 6th at Austria last season, then a rookie driver. Norris and Sainz performed admirably to finish 4th and 7th in qualifying. Then came the 3-place grid penalty to Hamilton right before the race, promoting Norris to 3rd on the starting grid.

Lando Norris held out the likes of Racing Point and Ferrari to finish 3rd, ahead of compatriot Lewis Hamilton, becoming the youngest British podium finisher. He spoke to another Brit, World Champion Jenson Button, after the race, clearly shocked and out of breath.

“I’m speechless. There were a few points where I thought I’d fudged it up a bit… but I managed to get past Perez and end up on the podium! I’m so happy and so proud of the team”

Also read: Youngest Podium F1: Where does Lando Norris stand after Austrian GP podium 2020

Norris is a champion in the making, he has given hope to all the underdogs in the paddock, and is fast emerging as the most adored and supported driver from the current roster.