F1 Factfile: McLaren

McLaren F1 team will be looking to retain third in the Constructors’ Championship despite a driver reshuffle, as Daniel Ricciardo joins the team partnering young Brit Lando Norris for 2021.

McLaren

The team are widely regarded as one of the most successful teams in the sport, picking up 182 Grand Prix victories in their time in F1 since being founded by Bruce McLaren in 1963. The Woking-based team is the second longest-serving and successful in the sport behind the prestigious Ferrari franchise, having won 12 Drivers’ Championships and eight Constructors’ Championships in just 57 years.

Ayrton Senna, who’s regarded as one of the best drivers to grace the sport, raced for McLaren between 1988-1993 during a time when the team dominated for several years claiming four out of the five Constructors’ titles during this period. Brazilian Senna had the closest of rivalries with teammate Alain Prost as the Frenchman won back-to-back Championships in 1985 and 1986.

McLaren have been able to guide drivers such as Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton to their respective Drivers’ Championships. Recently results have not always been what McLaren had hoped for, as the team underwent serious surgery in the bid to lift the team back to the front with the help of CEO Zak Brown.

Daniel Ricciardo

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The Aussie has moved to McLaren for 2021 after departing rivals Renault at the end of the 2020 season. Daniel Ricciardo is looked upon as one of the best drivers on today’s modern-day F1 grid after picking up several pole positions and wins during his time at Red Bull where he went toe-to-toe with Dutch starlet Max Verstappen before leaving the team in 2019.

The 31-year old has just three pole positions to his name, with a staggering seven race wins and 24 podiums during his time in Formula 1. He took his debut victory at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2014 followed by wins in Hungary and Belgium as the outgoing Aussie cemented himself at the front of the field.

The ‘Honey Badger’ embarked on his F1 career at HRT before picking up a full-time seat with Toro Rosso in 2012. He constantly outperformed the machinery underneath him as he gain a reputation for his immense qualifying pace. Red Bull promoted Ricciardo in 2014 as he made the step up to the main team alongside four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel.

His last victory to date came at Monaco in 2018, where he suffered an engine-related issue which meant he had to fend off the threat from behind for the remainder of the race with a wounded car, redemption after losing out on victory around the streets of Monte Carlo two years prior due to a slow pit-stop.

Ricciardo moved to Renault in 2019 as he sought after a new challenge, he continued to help propel the team closer to the top three teams picking up podiums at the Nürburgring and Imola as he flourished in the second half of the 2020 season before moving to McLaren after Carlos Sainz announced his departure from the team.

Lando Norris

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The young Brit will stay with McLaren in 2021 after two successful seasons with the team. The Bristol-born driver is looked upon as one for the future after stepping up to the category at the age of 19 just two years ago. In 2020, Lando Norris picked up his first-ever podium in the opening round around the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

The 21-year old made a name for himself at a very young age as he rose through the karting ranks very quickly, dominating many junior single-seater categories. Norris was always involved in the McLaren Young Drivers programme as he was noted to be a star of the future by many.

He won the European Formula 3 Championship in October 2017 beating fellow F1 drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin as well as fellow Brit and F2 runner-up Callum Ilott.

Just a matter of months later, he jumped into F2 in the bid of securing yet another Championship. The Englishman won the opening round at Bahrain and battled with George Russell for the rest of the season where he finished Runner-Up after Russell was able to string together a vital European period.

After being confirmed as a McLaren driver, Norris had a positive 2020 season, helping the team secure third in the Constructors’ Championship, scoring 97 points throughout the 17-race season.

Prediction for the season

There is very little change in the sporting regulations for 2021 which means we could see a similar outcome compared to 2020 where McLaren clinched third in the Constructors’ Championship. It will be the Woking-based team’s goal to try to retain third, but the likes of Ferrari will make this tough as they look to break back into the top three.

McLaren will narrowly avoid the top three and finish fourth in the Constructors’ Championship as Ferrari may pip the English-based team after solving some of their engine woes of 2020. They will finish ahead of Aston Martin in fifth as the team begins to focus on 2022. Every team will have an eye for 2022 with serious regulations changes so it is key that McLaren kicks off the season strongly.

Ricciardo has made this move to McLaren in the hope of being able to challenge for the Championship come 2022, as people continue to question if the Aussie will ever win a Drivers’ title. It will be a year of learning for experienced driver before looking to mount a challenge next year given the new regulations.

The Aussie should be able to finish seventh in the Championship behind the likes of Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez, which would be a fall of two positions after his sensational 2020 campaign. However, joining a new team will take him time to learn the car as well as the team around him.

As for Norris, it will be his third season with the team and after good progress in his second full season in F1. He finished ninth last season, last of a four-way battle between himself, Alexander Albon, teammate Carlos Sainz and newly recruited Daniel Ricciardo. Norris will battle to finish eighth in the Drivers’ Championship, one position behind his teammate.

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