Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri kick-start a new chapter as McLaren Racing celebrate 60 years with a launch of a 20203 challenger – MCL60.
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The McLaren Formula 1 Team unveiled the team’s new driver line-up in front of fans and the world’s media at the OKX Thought Leadership Centre at McLaren’s HQ in Woking, ahead of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
With a new chapter firmly underway following Andrea Stella’s move from Executive Director to F1 Team Principal, the team will start their 60th Anniversary celebrations by welcoming rookie driver and 2021 FIA Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri to pilot the MCL60 alongside talented Brit Lando Norris.
From Somerset, England, Lando, 23 years old, enters his fifth season in Formula 1 with McLaren after collecting a sixth career F1 podium at the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Oscar, 21 years old from Melbourne, Australia, joins the team, having won consecutive FIA Formula 3 and FIA Formula 2 championships in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
To mark McLaren’s milestone year, the team’s 2023 competitor will be named the MCL60, breaking from the previous naming convention. New Zealand-born racing driver Bruce McLaren founded McLaren Racing in 1963. Since then, the team have won 20 Formula 1 World Championships, 183 Formula 1 Grands Prix, the Indianapolis 500 three times, and the Le Mans 24 Hours at its first attempt.
The MCL60 features a striking papaya orange and blue livery, the colours first carried by the team in the 1960s, which have since become a team favourite since their reintroduction in 2018.
Designed under the leadership of Technical Director James Key and produced by the team in Woking, led by Operations Director Piers Thynne, the MCL60 will be powered by the integrated Mercedes-AMG F1 M14 E Performance into the McLaren chassis and gearbox with support from Mercedes HPP in Brixworth, UK.
Lando and Oscar will give the MCL60 its official on-track debut in the pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit on 23 February ahead of the opening race of the season at the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix on 5 March.
Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, said:
We are delighted to launch our 2023 Formula 1 team with Lando and Oscar at the wheel as we celebrate 60 years of McLaren Racing. This year’s driver line-up is extremely exciting as Lando, an intelligent and confident driver with…
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