Max Verstappen names the team that most impressed him during the 2023 F1 season

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Red Bull star Max Verstappen has admitted that McLaren were the team that impressed him the most during the 2023 Formula 1 season.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had one of the slowest cars on the grid in Bahrain but by the end of the season, they were consistently challenging for podiums.

Speaking on the Talking Bull Podcast, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were discussing their rival’s fortunes this year.

Admittedly, Verstappen had to witness most of his action either in his wing mirrors or on the various big screens dotted around the tracks.

Carlos Sainz was the only driver who managed to beat the Red Bull pair at any point in the season with his victory in Singapore.

Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton also managed to keep the Drivers’ Championship interesting as he closed in on Sergio Perez in the final few races.

However, Red Bull ended up with their first-ever one-two in the standings and more than doubled the next team’s points tally in the Constructors’ Championship.

There were some impressive performances behind Red Bull in 2023 though and Verstappen has highlighted how well McLaren have done this year.

Lando Norris was denied his first Formula 1 win by Verstappen’s dominance, but Oscar Piastri got the better of him during the Sprint Race in Qatar.

Verstappen impressed with McLaren in 2023

Asked which team he was most impressed with in 2023, Verstappen said: “We were the only team that was really consistent, that’s the thing, behind us it was really up and down.

“It was one team [finishing] second, then another team so that’s where the battle was quite close behind us.

“So, it will all depend on how much they improve in the winter time. Which one did I think was the most impressive behind us from where they started to where they ended was definitely McLaren.

“So, it looks like they might be very strong next year.”

Norris and Piastri will hope McLaren can build on the upgrades they introduced in 2023 so they can be in a position to challenge Verstappen going forward.

Mika Hakkinen praised the job the pair did this season while Otmar Szafnauer has admitted there’s still a gap in terms of speed between the two drivers.

Catching Red Bull next year is going to be incredibly difficult for any team but Verstappen and Perez will know they have to guard against complacency.

It will be interesting when pre-season testing rolls around in February if the gap has closed between Red Bull and the rest of the pack.