Lando Norris has admitted that McLaren gave him “strict orders” not to strike Oscar Biastri in the pair’s first track fight. The Briton will lead the team in 2023 after McLaren sacked Daniel Ricciardo for last season in Australia.
However, Norris admitted that his new teammates had already enjoyed their first race in a pre-season karting event. He gave admission at McLaren’s launch party where they showed off their new livery for the new campaign.
We took it very seriously, my kart was a little faster than his. It was a good race, it was our first little battle we had. The two drivers were then asked if racing allowed a couple to ‘size each other up’ before the season started. Formula One
“It was all friendly,” Piastri added. Norris replied, “We had strict orders. We couldn’t crash into each other.”
Read more: Zak Brown explains what McLaren must do to keep Lando Norris
McLaren is sticking with the papaya theme for 2023 with a slight difference from last year’s model. The new color is darker than the 2022 model while the eye-catching blue flashes on last year’s car have been reduced.
Their sponsorship deal with Google is even more notable with the Chrome banner in a prime location on the monocoque. Norris beat 17-time Formula 1 winner Daniel Ricciardo last season as he continues to impress.
The 23-year-old also secured a podium finish last season despite the team’s lack of pace compared to the others. Meanwhile, Piastri joins the team after Brown swoops in for his services amid contract confusion at Alpine. Piastri abandoned the team in favor of the British manufacturer despite opposition from Alpine boss Otmar Saffnauer.
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In the end, McLaren came out on top in the Contract Recognition Board (CRB) which governs Australian services. Speaking at the launch, McLaren boss Brown hinted that the team is optimistic ahead of the new season and the team’s long-term health.
He said: “We’ve got our veteran Lando back in the race car and our rookie driver Oscar who’s going to be very exciting,
Brown added, “Our future looks strong, and a lot of our technology projects are coming to fruition now. We can see and touch them and we’ll be actively working with wind tunnel and simulation and things like that later this year.”
