As the 2023 Formula 1 season came to a close, it featured a very tight finish between McLaren and Aston Martin for fourth place in the constructor championship. There is reason to believe that these two teams will open the 2024 season in a close battle yet again.
Both McLaren and Aston Martin made significant improvements last season, much more than many people expected. However, neither of them held consistency throughout the year.
Aston Martin opened as a top team that consistently finished on the podium, but they were unable to keep up with the developments of other teams.
McLaren, on the other hand, started the season as one of the slowest cars on the grid. Once they introduced significant upgrades to the MCL60, however, it turned into the one of the fastest cars on the grid, and both Lando Norris and rookie Oscar Piastri produced regular points and podium finishes.
McLaren, Aston Martin poised for 2024 fight
The unexpectedly impressive developments from both teams is the result of building increasingly strong management. McLaren and Aston Martin have shown themselves that they are fully capable of developing a highly competitive car.
Considering how the two teams fought to end the season, that same intensity will be there during the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix in less than two months.
McLaren and Aston Martin are not on the same level of car development in comparison to Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes. They are rather new to this competitive playing field, and until they reveal their cars to the public in just one month, their potential performance cannot be completely determined.
But now that they know the angle from which they must approach their car development to aim for added consistency over the course of a full season, it is reasonable to infer that their starting points this year will be similar performance-wise.