McLaren was one of the fewest mid-field teams to endure a horrendous start to the 2023 Formula 1 season, with hardly any positives to show on the track. But, fast-forward to June 2023, former McLaren world champion, Mika Hakkinen envisioned a contrasting change of fortunes for the Woking-based outfit over the rest of the season.
Of course, considering their poor run of form, it seemed far too impractical for McLaren to challenge the leading mid-fielders, let alone the championship leader, Red Bull. Furthermore, several Papaya fans themselves laughed Hakkinen’s claim off, negating the chances of seeing their favorite team anywhere near the top 3.
Happy Lando after P2 in quali. 😁😁😁#BritishGP 🇬🇧
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 8, 2023
But, the British Grand Prix has certainly proven the entire motorsport fandom wrong, as McLaren quite literally orchestrated Hakkinen’s comments from a month back. Lando Norris was on provisional pole until the very last second of the qualifying session only for Max Verstappen to reclaim his desired spot.
Nonetheless, Norris will be starting the race on the front row while his rookie teammate, Oscar Piastri, finds himself lined up behind Verstappen, in P3.
Mika Hakkinen’s neglected McLaren F1 prediction comes alive
A month back, Hakkinen made a wild McLaren prediction for the rest of the season, suggesting the former champions could well find themselves back in the hunt. What’s more, the Finn warned the high-flying Red Bull Racing to watch out for a massive twist from McLaren.
Speaking to Unibet, the Finn said, “I don’t think anyone is able to catch up [to Red Bull] this year. The only surprise I think we’ll see is McLaren’s possible progress during the next two months. I think they will surprise us massively. Just in terms of the speed of the car, they will probably challenge Red Bull.”
McLaren was one of the fewest teams to bring updates into the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend and almost immediately showed drastic improvements. Both the drivers seemed confident, and constantly chipped in impressive lap times on board. While the times weren’t good enough to defeat the mighty Verstappen, it certainly was solid enough to bring down the likes of Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Ferrari.
Hence, considering the positive trend, a McLaren show was always on the cards at Silverstone. But, nobody foresaw a McLaren 2-3 in the qualifying. Now, with an exciting afternoon to look forward to in the United Kingdom, can the Papaya outfit take on the supremely dominant Red Bull and secure its first race victory since Daniel Ricciardo in Monza 2021?