Zak Brown admits that McLaren is currently on the back foot with its 2023 contender having failed to reach proposed development targets.

While reliability has been excellent thus far throughout the paddock, it must be admitted that McLaren has had more than its fair share of issues.

Furthermore, while pace isn't an issue at this stage, both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have struggled with a car that appears nervous, and certainly doesn't sit as well on the track as the Aston Martin.

Speaking to reporters in Bahrain, Zak Brown has admitted that the team is currently on the back foot, but that upgrades further down the line should help.

Asked exactly how much on the back foot he thinks the car is, Brown admitted: "It's hard to know until we get going.

"We know we set some goals for development, which we didn't hit," he continued, "and we felt it was better to be honest about that. Like everyone, we have a lot of development coming. So, we are encouraged by what we see around the corner. I think we will be going into the first race off of our projected targets, but it is hard to really know where that means we will be on the grid."

Not wanting to kill off the team's hopes entirely before a wheel has even turned in anger, despite Andrea Stella's admission at the launch that he wasn't "entirely happy" with the car, Brown insisted: "We want to be in the top four by the end of the year.

"Last year was a bit disappointing," he added. "Our aspirations are to get back to the front, we know that will take a little bit more time, all the technology infrastructure is either in or going to be pretty much completed this year.

"We have some good developments coming," he added, "but so does every other single team in F1. We need to pick up the pace."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by alvarezh3, 24/02/2023 23:51

"@ Kenji.... As far as I can see, they can at least start engraving Verstappen's name on this year's driver trophy.

Today (day 2) Sky showed the air vectoring deflectors on the RB's front tunnel intake. If the competition needs to do the same in order to run at RBR's pace, then they can start already planing for next year's car as that engineering feat on the RB won't be easily copied to perfection in a couple of weeks nor with spending a couple of pennies."

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2. Posted by kenji, 24/02/2023 23:27

"@alvarezh3....at this early stage it seems to be prematurely unwise to be admitting such a downbeat assessment. Stella could be brutally honest but it may simply have been better resorting to 'no comment' rather that start off with a negative outlook. To state that they 'hope to be in the top four' by season end could turn out to be a self fulfilling prophecy. They should be aspiring to a higher level despite the fact that reality is against this occurring. There is no shame in setting high goals.....just so long as it is understood to be blue sky."

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3. Posted by alvarezh3, 24/02/2023 23:07

"It says a lot about a car's quality when the team principal (Stella) had shown his pessimism even before the car had turned a wheel.

With all do respect to Mr. James Key, but his trajectory as a F1 designer has never created a championship winning car.

Nevertheless, wish him and McLaren the best."

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4. Posted by kenji, 24/02/2023 23:03

"Good to see Piastri settling in and staying out of trouble whilst he begins the long long road to becoming an accomplished F1 driver. Considering that he hasn't raced for almost 18 months he seems to be adroit at handling his introduction in an exceptionally mature manner. Not an easy task in one so young. It's a pity that the apparent lack of performance detailed by Brown and Stella has not been successfully addressed in the new build. With the level of competition being set so high any shortfall in the opening stages can be fatal to the longer term aspirations in a very long season. What is a great concern is that some comments would have one believe that the previous 'handling' problems baked in to the McLaren design process have not been fully eliminated! It will be fascinating to see how McLaren tackle this issue....if at all. The first three races will be all about setting the right oven temps, according to the chef!!!!"

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McLaren behind on development goals

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