Why McLaren thinks its 2024 F1 car is already faster than the MCL60

OPINION: McLaren showed off the tweaked livery it will use in the 2024 Formula 1 season this week. Its new car is yet to be seen, but comments made by team principal Andrea Stella suggest the team is set to have an even more competitive car this year. But there’s one critical caveat…

Published Jan 17, 2024, 5:45 PM

How major sports teams and organisations generate staff and driver/player motivation is a fascinating topic. At this time of year, the top American Football teams are trying to make deep runs through the NFL playoffs. There are so many examples of team coaches galvanising their players to hit harder or run faster in these critical knockout games by passing on media headlines or social media comments.

The ‘chip on the shoulder’ effect can be a valuable tool in a brutal sport. Formula 1 teams do it too, albeit in different ways.

Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.