2023 was a season of two completely different halves for Lando Norris and McLaren. During the first part of the campaign, the Briton and the rest of the team struggled massively to even score points. However, soon after McLaren brought about an upgrade to the MCL60, their results improved drastically. Since Norris and McLaren carried on this momentum until the end of the 2023 season, the 24-year-old is optimistic about his chances even going into 2024.
While reflecting on how 2023 had been for him and how he is looking forward to 2024, Norris explained (as quoted by Junaid), “It was definitely my best year since I raced in Formula 1. Obviously, I hope to do better. We will try to do our best to win as much as possible. Also, because next year will be a difficult fight.”
Norris: “….and that’s a positive aspect. It was definitely my best year since I raced in Formula 1. Obviously I hope to do better. We will try to do my best to win as much as possible, also because next year will be a difficult fight.”
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— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) December 10, 2023
Although McLaren finished a decent fourth in the championship this season, their expectations are much higher going into 2024. McLaren hopes to discover enough performance over the winter break to challenge Red Bull for wins, if not the title, next season.
Lando Norris feels “so close” to winning with McLaren
Lando Norris has now completed five seasons in F1 and had several podium finishes. However, the one thing that continues to elude him is a win. That could change next season, as the Briton is confident that he is “so close” to winning.
As quoted by The Independent, Norris said, “It’s [first win] going to be next year and I’m with McLaren next year. I feel like we’re so close“. The 24-year-old then explained how the team from Woking are currently in an extremely strong place.
“I feel like we’ve got more things to look forward to next year – we’ve finally got the wind tunnel properly going and so many things which are coming together more than ever. If there’s ever a time in my life, over the last five years, I want to be a bit more confident, it’s probably going into 2024,” he explained.
While Red Bull will still be the favorites to win the title in 2024, Norris believes McLaren can at least challenge for wins next year. That itself will be a massive step forward for a team, whose last win came at Monza in 2021.
