With the dust having completely settled on the 2022 season, McLaren will be preparing for the official arrival of the team’s newest driver, Oscar Piastri.
Piastri will become an official McLaren driver from the start of 2023, with the 21-year-old having replaced fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo alongside McLaren star Lando Norris.
His rookie campaign will certainly come on the back of controversial circumstances, following the entire saga with Alpine and the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board.
By replacing Ricciardo as well, he will be breaking what has been a fan favourite partnership, with Norris and Ricciardo having given fans multiple hilarious moments over the last two years.
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Points aren’t awarded for friendships, though, with Ricciardo having not done enough to retain his seat at the Woking-based team.
McLaren have big ambitions to return to the front, with the side believing Piastri to be a key part of that goal.
Piastri is undoubtedly an exceptional talent, one who will be intriguing to watch in his rookie campaign alongside Norris.
McLaren boss Andreas Seidl is expecting Norris to get on with his new team-mate, with Seidl explaining that the team have “one common mission together”.
“Each driver is different, and that could end up in a different relationship between two guys, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that one or the other type of relationship is better or worse,” Seidl told reporters.
“In the end, the way Lando is as a guy, [and] the way we got to know Oscar so far, I don’t expect any issues there.
“We have one common mission together, we want to make sure that the work everyone is putting in and the commitment everyone is putting in, that we simply keep moving forward as a team.”
The initial goal for 2023 will likely be to finish in the top four of the Constructors’ Championship, having finished fifth in the recent campaign.
Both drivers will obviously have bigger dreams, though, of claiming a World Championship, something that Seidl insists will require “teamwork” from the team’s exceptional driver line-up.
“In order to fulfil our dreams, the dreams of the two guys, we need to end up being the best team in the paddock and having the best car available,” said Seidl.
“In order to do that, you need a lot of teamwork between everyone involved, and that will be the focus.”
“We want to give both guys an environment and a car which allows them to give their best on track each time they go out, and which allows them to battle it out on track.
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“That doesn’t necessarily mean you treat everyone exactly the same, because every driver is different. Every driver has different needs.
“I want to make sure that they have fair and same treatment each time they go on track, and they can battle it out on track.
“Then I feel that we have done our job as a team, and I think that’s the way you get the maximum out of these two guys.”