The Woking-based team had their ‘Best Friday’ of the 2022 season at Melbourne.
McLaren have had a horrible start to the 2022 season. After a fourth-place finish in the Constructors’ championship last season, the eight-time champions were expected to compete with the top teams in Formula 1.
However, McLaren had a nightmare start to the new campaign with the first race in Bahrain. Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris were unable to finish in the points in the season opener. In Jeddah, Norris did manage a P7 finish but Ricciardo was unable to finish the race.
While McLaren have revealed that they are still facing certain issues, the team had both its drivers in the top 10 at the end of Friday’s practice sessions at Albert Park. Now, after making small progress, can the British team steal an unlikely win at the Australian GP?
One of the key reasons why McLaren can win the Australian GP is because of hometown boy Daniel Ricciardo. The ‘honey badger’ will be hoping to put on a show in his home race and has shown his overtaking masterclass in abundance over the course of his career.
Out of his 8 GP wins, Ricciardo has never won in Australia and a sensational homecoming could be on the cards for the veteran driver.
Meanwhile, Lando Norris is also looking for his first win in Formula 1. The English driver has come close a few times but has a great opportunity to show the world that he can outdo his teammate in Australia.
Although a win still seems rather unlikely for McLaren this weekend, one can never count the British team out. Their stunning 1-2 finish in Monza last year had received plenty of praise as they were the only team to claim the top two steps on the podium in a race in 2021.
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