Hear from McLaren F1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and Team Principal Andrea Stella after the 2023 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Lando Norris
It was a perfect day; it couldn’t have gone much better, to be honest. Good pace, similar to yesterday, which is the main thing, and a much better start at the beginning to get from sixth to second. P2 is as good as we can get now and for the time being, but I’m thrilled to be challenging for podiums consistently. Thanks for everyone’s hard work both at the track and the factory in what’s been a long but enjoyable triple header.
Oscar Piastri
A difficult race for me today. Unfortunately, it was essentially over before it began, after the contact from behind that I couldn’t avoid. The team did an incredible job getting the car turned around to get me back out after the red flag. Seventy-one laps at a circuit I haven’t driven before are extremely useful for my learning, and I hope to see the fruits of the team’s hard work today when we return next year. After that, we needed a safety car to unlock us, which sadly never came. On to the next one in Las Vegas.
Andrea Stella
After a challenging afternoon for the team, we returned with solid points and more silverware. On Lando’s side, we have somewhat mixed feelings. On the one hand, we can be satisfied that he was the only car quick enough to contend with Verstappen. But throughout the race, we have to accept that he still has a bit of a performance advantage, and we still have some work to do to close that gap. Overall, it was an impressive drive from Lando and essential points for the team.
Oscar’s race was unfortunately compromised after being caught up in someone else’s incident at the start. The team did an exceptional job to repair the substantial damage to Oscar’s car during the red flag and get him back out for the remainder of the race. Despite this, Oscar’s car was still carrying damage to important aerodynamic components and took a significant lap-time deficit throughout the entire race. Nevertheless, it was a valuable exercise for him to gain experience at a track he had never raced at before.
After this long triple header, my thanks go to the entire team, both trackside and at MTC, and to our colleagues at HPP for their dedication and continued support. We came away with 63 points from a selection of racetracks that we knew didn’t necessarily suit our car, which is encouraging in terms of our general competitiveness. It’s time now to reset and prepare for the final double-header of the season, starting in Las Vegas in two weeks.
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