Sam Bird shares exciting update he’s heard about McLaren’s 2024 Formula 1 car

Follow us on Google Discover

McLaren Formula E driver Sam Bird has shared an update on what he’s heard about the team’s 2024 Formula 1 car.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were on the charge in 2023 and will be hoping they’ll be at the sharp end of the grid this year too.

Speaking on the Chequered Flag Podcast, Bird was quick to talk about how excited the team are about the MCL38.

Bird gives update on McLaren’s 2024 F1 car

There are very few teams who will be more excited for this season than McLaren.

After such a slow start to 2023, they were hot on the heels of Red Bull by the end of the year thanks to some truly extraordinary upgrade packages.

Oscar Piastri established himself as one of the best rookies in recent years and pushed Lando Norris hard as the season went on.

The young Brit put in some outstanding performances too, regularly featuring on the podium and producing drives such as the one in Mexico City that blew the rest of the field away.

Sam Bird may not have driven McLaren’s 2024 F1 car, but he has been in contact with the team about how its development is going.

Every team on the grid will be hoping they’ve taken big steps forward over the winter.

Given Red Bull have made a few striking changes to their car if they’ve not got it right then there could be an opportunity for another team to strike early this year.

Positive noises already coming out of McLaren

Talking about the team’s progression, Bird said: “I can only really see Ferrari or potentially my new employer McLaren potentially causing some upsets during the year.

“I know that McLaren are excited by their car. They’ve worked on some key areas from last year.

“They’ve worked on slow-speed cornering, they’ve worked on their drag because last year they had a good car in high speed but it was quite draggy.

“I feel like I’m getting some inside information that they’ve cured some of those elements so they’re feeling quite good.”

Bird suggesting McLaren have worked out some of the key issues they faced last year with their 2024 car is fascinating.

It didn’t look like a car with too many problems towards the end of 2023 but if the car is even more settled then they could really push their rivals going forward.

Norris will know he needs to nail qualifying more often if he’s going to put himself in a position to win his first Formula 1 race.

Piastri has driven at every track on the calendar except China now and that experience could prove invaluable.