As McLaren prepare for the 2024 Formula 1 season, the Woking-based outfit passed a milestone by firing up the engine of the McLaren MCL38 for the first time.
Having unveiled its 2024 livery on January 16, the engine start-up is the latest glimpse (this time largely audible) of the MCL38 before the official season launch on February 14.
Helping oversee the continued development of the MCL38 from the start of 2024 is McLaren’s new three-pronged technical structure reporting directly to Team Principal Andrea Stella.
Peter Prodromou (Technical Director, Aerodynamics) was joined at the start of the year by ex-Red Bull Chief Designer Rob Marshall (Technical Director, Engineering & Design) and former Head of Concept at Ferrari David Sanchez (Technical Director, Car Concept & Performance).
Putting the McLaren MCL38’s Mercedes hybrid powertrain through its paces will be Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – with both drivers committed to the long-term future of the team.
After an impressive rookie season in which he scored a Sprint victory in Qatar and two grand prix podiums, Piastri signed a contract extension until the end of 2026.
Buoyed by McLaren’s mid-season turnaround in 2023 which saw them go from struggling to get out of Q1 in qualifying to a consistent podium threat, Norris recently pledged his allegiance to McLaren long-term, signing a multi-year extension to his pre-existing deal that ran through 2025.
