2023 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

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norris q3 lap 1:12.792 - very slow on straights, easy flat in campsa even upshift to 7th, good hug on apex in T5
https://streamable.com/4uly26


Still think it'll be hard to keep hamilton behind, especially since mercedes is like 6-7 kmh faster on straights

I think on their fastest laps norris top speed was 320 whereas Merc had 324 and AMR 323

[AR3-GP]

Mclaren are running very low if all that scratching of the plank is anything to go by.

[mclaren_mircea]

Stunning performance today from Norris I am always impressed by him in these conditions

Piastri also looked pretty good in the drying conditions until q3 - a shame but good experience for him!

McLaren will be rain dancing all year based on Monaco and this session.. fingers crossed for mixed/wet conditions tomorrow; who knows Lando could fight for a win in the wet

Based on how strong the car is in the final two corners and how draggy it is.. I'm expecting Austria to be a strong showing for the team.

Why do you expect them to be strong in Austria?? There are long straights and slow corners. Only one or two high speed corners that suits this years Mclaren. And what about Canada? Im expecting Canada to be their worst race before summer break. Long straighs, slow corners, and kerb riding. I would think that after Canada, Austria would be ver bad for Mclaren. But they will be mega in Silverstone and Hungaroring.

[McL-H]

Great performance by Lando. Car has greatly improved since Key’s departure from the team.

[Darth-Piekus]

Still think it'll be hard to keep hamilton behind, especially since mercedes is like 6-7 kmh faster on straights

I can't say we know what's gonna happen. Mclaren was much faster in high speed corners so Norris might as well build distance using that part.

[organic]

Great performance by Lando. Car has greatly improved since Key’s departure from the team.

Lando says they haven't changed anything since Key left. Same car, just the conditions/tracks suiting them. With their barn door the final two high speed corners are very good for the McLaren

[Mostlyeels]

The highlight is to have outqualified both Aston Martin and Mercedes… Let’s wait for the race, but a good result would do wonders for the overall motivation of the Team

NGL, it was exciting to have the car be competitive in quali! I don't think I've jumped up and down or cheered so much in ages! Great to see the car place highly out of merit.

Gasly just got a 3 place grid penalty for impeding. Alonso's damage must've been quite a decent amount, to have him so far off the pace in all Q sessions.

I've only seen long run pace averages on the softs. Did they do runs on more representative tyres? Norris will be right in the thick of it.

[MTudor]

Great performance by Lando. Car has greatly improved since Key’s departure from the team.

Lando says they haven't changed anything since Key left. Same car, just the conditions/tracks suiting them. With their barn door the final two high speed corners are very good for the McLaren

Here they brought a small update thou see the raport from friday:

Front Corner:

Reason for change: Performance – flow conditioning

Difference: “New Front Brake Duct Vane and Winglet shape”

Description: “The altered shape of Front Brake Vane and Winglet results in an improvement of flow conditioning which leads to an overall aerodynamic load increase.”

[chrisgr]

Gasly got two 3-grid penalties. So Oscar moves up to 9th?

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Gasly got two 3-grid penalties. So Oscar moves up to 9th?

Gas will be 10th yes

[AR3-GP]

I think the extended DRS zones (which basically make up all the straights) are helping Mclaren in qualifying. I think they are going to pay a bigger penalty for that drag tomorrow when they cannot open the DRS.

[SmallSoldier]

The highlight is to have outqualified both Aston Martin and Mercedes… Let’s wait for the race, but a good result would do wonders for the overall motivation of the Team

NGL, it was exciting to have the car be competitive in quali! I don't think I've jumped up and down or cheered so much in ages! Great to see the car place highly out of merit.

Gasly just got a 3 place grid penalty for impeding. Alonso's damage must've been quite a decent amount, to have him so far off the pace in all Q sessions.

I've only seen long run pace averages on the softs. Did they do runs on more representative tyres? Norris will be right in the thick of it.

The result of qualifying definitely lifts the spirits… Good to see that the team can pull a result, even if unexpected!… Alonso could have been up there, but the reality is that they out qualified Stroll too, so the car in terms of pace isn’t that bad in Barcelona… If one puts all the the best sectors of each driver Lando would have still been third (actually in front of Sainz, but behind Hamilton).

In the race, there will be several threats… From Hamilton himself, the Mercedes is strong… Expect Alonso to also get more pace with the AMR once they fix /change his floor… While Perez might be the last threat, his one lap pace wasn’t really strong, but his race pace will be strong I’m sure.

That said, a Top 6 tomorrow will be a very good result and nothing to complain about… If there is rain though, that could change most expectations… They seem to have setup the MCL60 with more DF than the rest, it could be a very good move if it indeed rains tomorrow (not taking into account that Lando is usually very fast in the wet too).

[Harisudhan]

norris q3 lap 1:12.792 - very slow on straights, easy flat in campsa even upshift to 7th, good hug on apex in T5
https://streamable.com/4uly26


Still think it'll be hard to keep hamilton behind, especially since mercedes is like 6-7 kmh faster on straights

I think on their fastest laps norris top speed was 320 whereas Merc had 324 and AMR 323

Although do keep in mind that mclaren was playing with different deployment strategies. IN Q1 lando hit 327 on the speed trap, In Q2 lando hit 320 and in Q3 he hit 324. And Q2 lap was actually his fastest.

[djos]

Wow, what an epic lap by Lando, that was just sensational!

Solid effort from Oscar too, just a shame he couldn't get further up the grid.

[mwillems]

Great performance by Lando. Car has greatly improved since Key’s departure from the team.

Lando says they haven't changed anything since Key left. Same car, just the conditions/tracks suiting them. With their barn door the final two high speed corners are very good for the McLaren

The new floor in Baku was designed to improve high speed cornering, the team stated at the time. The car is simply good at these types of corner.

If they could improve the medium and low to medium corners then they could reduce their wing and gain some kph too