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Can McLaren surprise again? 'So much history here thanks to Senna'

Can McLaren surprise again? 'So much history here thanks to Senna'

31-10-2023 15:45

Ludo van Denderen

A terrible Saturday (with nineteenth place in qualifying), followed by an outstanding Sunday. In the Mexican Grand Prix, Lando Norris still managed to work his way up from a hopeless position to fifth place. This again proved that McLaren currently has a very strong car. Ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, confidence is high in the Woking-based team.

"Brazil, let's go!" Norris then laughed. "It’s the end of the triple-header and the final Sprint weekend of the season. There’s so much history and heritage at this race, particularly with McLaren and Senna. I always enjoy coming here, so hopefully it’s another opportunity for us to score some good points. The car had great pace in Mexico, allowing me to gain 12 places, which I’m pretty happy with. We know what we’re capable of, we just have to go out there and do it."

Piastri learned wise lessons

Teammate Oscar Piastri will make his debut at Interlagos next weekend: "I’m looking forward to racing in Brazil. It’s a Sprint weekend which I enjoy, and it gives us more chances for points. I’ve never raced here before, so I’m excited to get on track at such an iconic circuit. The last few races have been reassuring, especially considering where we were at the start of the season. Mexico was slightly tougher for me with the damage, but I’ve debriefed with the team, and I’ll take the learnings into this weekend as we aim for more points," said the Australian.

Team boss Andrea Stella looks confident going into Brazil after a weekend with both cars in the points. "We keep being encouraged by the performance of our car and hope to be competitive once again. The team remain focused as we come to the final race of the triple header. It’s been a very busy few weeks, but everyone continues to be motivated and perform at the highest level. With the final Sprint event of the season, there’s a bigger prospect to score points and we aim to maximise our opportunities across the weekend.”