Lando Norris has claimed that 2023 has been his best ever season in Formula 1 despite the serious challenges McLaren faced earlier in the year.
The Woking outfit initially endured a tough 60th anniversary, having started 2023 with a frustrating P17 and P20 in Bahrain, leaving them looking like a back marker team.
However, under their new team principal Andrea Stella, McLaren managed to turn things around with a series of upgrades in the middle of the season.
Lando Norris delivered the team’s first podium finish of the season at the British Grand Prix before adding another P2 finish to the tally in Hungary.
McLaren’s success would continue with more top three finishes, including the team’s first back-to-back double podium success since 2010.
“I don’t know how we just forget about the first part, because since Austria it’s been definitely my best season in Formula 1,” Norris told Sky Sports.
“Just from a driving perspective but also results. Some great races, we’ve had a car which has finally been able to keep us at the front consistently.
"It changes the way you go about things, you know when you’re fighting against Max, you’re fighting against all these top drivers.
“It’s a different race to when you’re in 15th and 16th and things like that. It’s been great, I’m really happy, I’m proud of our team that we’ve finally found those things which allowed us to take that big step.
“But we know as well, there’s a lot more things that we’ve got to do. If we keep working at it then hopefully next year we can get that next step.”