5th in the championship, the maximum for McLaren according to Lando Norris

McLaren experienced a real upheaval this season. The team from Woking struggled to score points early in the season with an underperforming car. However, they could rely on Lando Norris who managed to extract the maximum from the MCL36 throughout the season. The British driver even achieved the feat of stepping onto the podium at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola.

A legitimate 5th place

In light of Lando Norris’s impressive season, scoring 122 out of McLaren’s 159 points, the team’s fourth-place finish in the constructor’s championship seemed within reach. However, it’s important to remember that Alpine was a step ahead in terms of performance, but the French cars faced numerous technical issues. The British driver believes that his team’s final fifth-place position in the championship is deserved. The intense battle between the two teams demonstrates the significant work McLaren put in throughout the season.

« This is where we deserve to be, P5…
»

I think that the fact of having continued to fight with them for so long proves how well we did with a much less powerful package, honestly. And so, that’s why I’m quite happy.

An encouraging dynamic.

The English team has made a lot of progress throughout the season by making numerous improvements to the MCL36. The English cars have shown great performance in the second half of the season and have been able to compete with the Alpines. A sign of the significant progress of the team in 2022. Lando Norris hopes that this momentum will continue right from the start of the 2023 season.

« We started too far behind at the beginning of the season, so I hope that we can start much higher next year, do the development, make the progress that we have made this season and we will be much better off.