The McLaren MCL38 breaks cover with continued momentum the target

McLaren’s two-pronged launch approach reached part two on Valentine’s Day as the Woking team took the covers off of the car, the MCL38, having previously unveiled only the livery.

McLaren surprised the Formula 1 paddock in mid-January when the team revealed their 2024 colours in an unexpected announcement and confirmed that the car will be called the ‘MCL38’.

CEO Zak Brown said at the time: “The design looks awesome and I can’t wait to go racing and see it come to life on track next month.”

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And come to life is what it did on Wednesday as the Woking team took the covers off the car at Silverstone at precisely 8:38am local time.

The papaya-and-black car will once again be raced by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, arguably one of the most exciting line-ups on the F1 grid.

Last season, in the drivers’ first year together, they bounced back from a woeful start to the championship when McLaren put a B-spec car on the track at the Austrian Grand Prix.

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Led by team boss Andrea Stella, the Norris and Piastri claimed nine podiums between them 0 seven of which were runner-up performances – while Piastri won the Qatar Sprint.

Having finished fourth overall last year, McLaren are looking to build on that this season with Piastri highlighting the importance of continued momentum.

“The biggest thing is to continue the momentum. If you stand still, you’re going backwards,” said the Australian driver. “Of course, we don’t know what the other teams have around us.

“We’re happier than we were at this point 12 months ago with how things are looking. But until you’re on track with everyone else, you never quite know what it’s going to be like…

“The thing for us is, we still have pretty clear weaknesses [low-speed handling] compared to our competitors. It’s just that we also have good strengths as well.”

The drivers will take part in a 200km shakedown at the Silverstone circuit on Wednesday with pre-season testing beginning on 21 February in Bahrain.

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