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McLaren CEO Zak Brown says he is optimistic about the team' s future – despite their poor start to 2023. A reshuffle in the off-season saw previous Team Principal Andreas Seidl leave to be replaced by the team's Racing Director Andrea Stella. Following a poor start to 2023, Technical Director James Key was released and the team's technical structure was revised. McLaren are currently fifth in the Constructors' Championship, but only have 14 points from the first five races of 2023, with Lando Norris' sixth place in Melbourne the team's best finish of the season so far. But despite a troubled start to 2023, Brown sought to accentuate the positive, highlighting the culture change that Stella had tried to bring about, and noting that the driving partnership of Norris and Oscar Piastri was arguably the best in F1. "The energy inside the team right now is awesome," Brown told media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "You have a bad weekend...

Sergio Perez is the Formula 1 master of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Not only he has now become the only driver to win in Baku more than once ('two-and-a-half times' as he pointed out with the sprint win), it was an expected win. Such was Red Bull's pace advantage over the field, it was accepted that pole-man Charles Leclerc would be quickly dispensed with and a straight fight between Perez and Max Verstappen. Yes, the Mexican was lucky with the timing of the Safety Car, everyone gets a bit here and there after all, but he also pulled out nearly three seconds over the World Champion. This was Perez's day - and now just six points behind Verstappen, the question is can he really challenge for the championship? Viewed by others: FIA Stewards issue verdict after scary Ocon pit incident review ...

It will be "relatively easy" for McLaren to bring their long-awaited Formula 1 upgrade package to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, despite it being a Sprint event, according to Andrea Stella. The team identified a new development path late in the design of their MCL60, opting to lower expectations for the first three races while the floor parts were developed in time for Baku. However, as the Grand Prix weekend will feature a Sprint event, there will be just one hour of practice before qualifying and cars heading into parc ferme, as opposed to the three hours on a normal race weekend. In addition, there is also a second race start to get through, with contact on the opening lap in Baku common as cars battle for position. Despite this, Stella is confident that the upgrade s will be applied seamlessly. Viewed by others: Lewis Hamilton ...

Zak Brown has revealed how he expects Oscar Piastri to perform ahead of the Australian's debut F1 season. After a much-publicised dispute over his services with Alpine – which was eventually decided in McLaren 's favour after going through the Contract Recognition Board – Piastri was confirmed to race for the Woking-based team in 2023 alongside Lando Norris. Norris will be entering into his fifth season in Formula 1 , but Brown is confident that Piastri can still pose a challenge to his more experienced teammate. Brown expects Norris and Piastri to be 'close' "I think Lando is one of the fastest drivers on the grid, and I expect he and Oscar to be close," Brown told media, including TheFOXposts.Com . "I expect Oscar to have some opportunities to beat him and vice versa, and that's obviously what you want – two drivers that are right next to ...

New McLaren boss Andrea Stella is expecting Ferrari to have a strong start to 2023, having stated that the Italian team are said to be "very happy" with their new car. Stella – who previously worked as an engineer for the Scuderia – was appointed as Team Principal at McLaren earlier in December following the departure of Andreas Seidl to the role of CEO at Sauber. There have also been changes at Ferrari, with Mattia Binotto announcing his resignation in late November. It was then confirmed in the weeks that followed that Fred Vasseur will become the Italian outfit's Team Principal and General Manager as of 9 January. According to Stella, the Maranello-based team are feeling positive about their 2023 challenger. Stella predicts teams to beat in 2023 "I know that at Ferrari they are very happy with the new car, and so they will definitely have a com Pet iti...