McLaren disappoints in 2022: 'We didn't expect this beforehand'

With fifth place in the constructors' championship, McLaren took a step back in the rankings in 2022. Lando Norris still has every confidence in his team but does state that things must improve in the coming years.

Norris signed a new contract at McLaren before the 2022 Formula 1 season through 2025. A great sign of confidence from Norris and also from the team. The Brit repaid his team's confidence by performing strongly last season, but McLaren was still somewhat disappointed.

Norris expects more from McLaren

The Woking-based team had hoped to take a step towards the top in 2022, but with the new regulations, it actually took a step backwards. Given the first race in which no points were scored and the car was barely controllable, it is another miracle that McLaren finished fifth among constructors.

Given that first race, then, Norris is satisfied with where McLaren is now, but he did not expect that before the season. ''If I think of before this season, did we achieve in 2022 what we should have done as McLaren? Honestly, it's no,'' the 23-year-old driver said to Sky Sports. The Briton expects a step forward from his team in 2023, as he wants to eventually become world champion.

''If we want to do well and we want to be champions at some point and we want to win races, we can't be satisfied with where we have been this season, but we can certainly be satisfied with the progress we've made,'' Norris concluded.