Lando and Oscar “excited” for the future
Our F1 driver pairing believe that a “victory isn’t too far away” as they look to 2024
It’s impossible to know how the 2023 season will be looked back on in years to come, but as Lando and Oscar walked out of the F1 paddock following the season's final race in Abu Dhabi, it felt like this year could be the start of something special.
Having secured fourth in the Constructors’ Championship thanks to our highest points tally since the 2012 season, our drivers were in a reflective mood, looking back on a season in which they’ve learned a lot and laid the foundations for future success.
Andrea Stella and the team started the year by calling for patience as we worked to improve the MCL60, with key upgrades expected at Silverstone and Japan. Both packages were installed one race early, initially on Lando's car, and they delivered on Andrea’s promise and more. Prior to Austria, the team had scored just 17 points. In the 14 Rounds since then, the team have added 285, delivering nine podiums and an F1 Sprint win to finish fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.
“That’s very important for the whole team,” said Lando when asked about the team’s achievement of finishing fourth by F1 TV. “For the morale, for the motivation, just to know we beat a team, we were a long way behind at the beginning of the year, so it shows the hard work paid off. It’s a good bonus for everyone who’s part of the team, so I'm very happy for them.
Lando enjoyed his best season to date, scoring 205 points and seven podiums
“I am happy to be a part of it and to help that progression that we needed this year. We took one of the biggest steps we’ve ever done, but we know we want a lot more. Everyone knows that in the team, everyone’s working extremely hard and trying to progress as much as possible. Exciting times ahead, and just a few more bits of the jigsaw to put together, and we’ll have it all.”
As well as being a year of growth for the team on track, Lando believes he’s improved as a driver throughout 2023. The British racer has enjoyed his best season to date, scoring 205 points and seven podiums, his highest tallies in F1.
He finished sixth in the Drivers’ Championship, only one point off fourth, and ended the year as the second most consistent driver after Max Verstappen, having taken 193 points since the Austrian Grand Prix.
“I feel like I took a good step forward this year, especially in the second half of this season,” Lando told Sky Sports. “I feel like I understood the car a little bit more. There are still plenty of things to improve on, and I am really looking forward to next year.
We finished fourth in the Constructors’ Championship thanks to our highest points tally since the 2012 season
“I feel like we are in a good rhythm at the minute. The team have done a good job, I am super, super happy with how the team have done this year. We’ve taken massive steps forward, but it is clear that we’ve still got a lot of things to improve on. I think we know what we want to improve - a couple of more steps forward on work we’ve already done, and then some more specific things that will help in terms of driveability and ease of driving.
“The car is quick enough on one lap, but then when we get to the races and want consistency, we struggle a little bit. Those are the things we want to focus on. We have been working hard for many months, and I look forward to it.”
Finishing ninth in the standings, Oscar ended as the season’s highest-placed rookie after becoming the first driver since Lewis Hamilton to take multiple podiums in their first season of F1, with third in Japan and second in Qatar.
The team have been delighted with his progress, how he has settled in, and the ease with which he’s stepped up from the second tier, although the Australian said it's been far from straightforward.
Oscar is the first driver since Lewis Hamilton to take multiple podiums in their first season of F1
“It has given me a few sucker punches, but it has given me some good moments as well,” Oscar said on his debut season when speaking to Sky Sports. “I don’t want to say I underestimated it because I knew it would be tough, but you never know quite how difficult it will be until you get stuck into it.
“The last couple of months, both physically and mentally, have been difficult, but it has been a good season, with some real highlights. I know a lot more now than I did at the start of the year. I enjoyed it a lot. It will be a bit weird going into next season not being a rookie - it has been about four years since I've been able to say that – but we will see what we can do.”
In Lando, Oscar has one of the sport’s quickest and most consistent teammates as a benchmark, and he believes that working and battling with the fifth-year driver has played a key role in him getting up to speed with F1 so quickly.
“Lando and I have worked really well together through the lows of the start of the season and the highs from the middle and end. I think we've been pushing each other.
McLaren ended the year with 302 points, nine podiums, an F1 Sprint win
“I think over one lap, we are quite a good match for each other. In some of the races, he has still had a bit more than me, and I am trying to work on that, but hopefully that comes with more experience.”
Together with the team, he hopes we can continue climbing up the grid in 2024. As well as his two podiums, Oscar won the F1 Sprint in Qatar, and he believes the team is on the verge of a grand prix victory if they can capitalise on the foundations we’ve laid this year.
“We are very close,” Oscar said. “On certain tracks this year, we’ve been incredibly close. Qatar was a little glimpse - we had one opportunity to try and win some kind of race for the year, in the F1 Sprint, and we managed to pull it off. I feel like we are very close.
“We’ve been pleasantly surprised about some of the tracks we’ve been quick at through the season. The American triple header, for example, we thought we would struggle much more than we did. So, there are some positives there. This weekend in Abu Dhabi, in the race, was a little more difficult than we expected, but I think the victory isn’t too far away.”