McLaren

There is the specification of the box the wings must reside within.
There is the specification of the structure holding the wing to the chassis.
There is the specification of how much weight is applied and how much/little deflection is measured and where.

The anticipation is that the "where the weight is applied and where the deflection is measured" may have to be augmented.

 

Analysis of the current Mclaren wings and other teams updates shown in Singapore.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/how-mclarens-rear-wing-choice-again-caught-attention-in-singapore/10658076/
How McLaren’s rear wing choice again caught attention in Singapore
After the ‘mini-DRS’ controversy, McLaren’s rear wing selection in Singapore stood out.
Matt SomerfieldGiorgio PiolaSep 26, 2024, 11:54 AM

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Giorgio Piola's F1 technical analysis

Giorgio Piola is the preeminent Formula 1 technical journalist. Born in Genoa, Italy, Giorgio has covered the F1 World Championship since 1969, producing thousands of illustrations that have been reproduced in the world’s most prestigious motor racing publications.


For the second weekend in a row, one of the more interesting technical nuances from the Singapore Grand Prix revolved around McLaren and its rear wing choice.

But rather than this being a controversial talking point like in Baku, as attention was grabbed by its ‘mini-DRS’, instead the fascinating element to last week was about it bucking the trend with its downforce levels.

While the rest of the field took the conventional approach of fitting its cars with their highest downforce selection, McLaren was alone in not doing it – it went a step down on downforce.

This was a decision that the team seemingly settled into early-on in the weekend too.

McLaren split its car from the off. Oscar Piastri went for the max downforce arrangement in FP1, before switching to the step down level that Lando Norris had run from the start.

As its opponents wrestled their machinery around the Singapore street track with high downforce arrangements similar to what would be installed at Monaco and Hungary (inset), McLaren bridged the gap between downforce levels with an updated beam wing arrangement.

The new beam wing arrangement is still a bi-plane layout, with the lower, more loaded element retained.


The upper more slat-like element was increased in size to improve the relationship between the two elements and help create a stronger connection between them, the diffuser and rear wing.

The ‘mini-DRS’ controversy
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McLaren MCL38 rear wing

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

McLaren’s rear wing was a big talking point heading into Singapore, with footage from the rear-facing onboard camera of Oscar Piastri’s MCL38 in Baku showing distortion in the slot gap between the mainplane and upper flap.

This opening up of the gap between wing elements would help reduce drag and increase straight-line speed.

Whilst McLaren is not the only team to be employing flexibility in its rear wing to reduce drag, the means by which McLaren were doing so was a new method from what we’ve seen in the past.

In this instance, there was a secondary effect, whereby the leading edge of the upper flap flexes upwards, which is most visible in the front corners of the flap (red arrow, above).


This ‘mini-DRS’, as it quickly became dubbed, was expected to provide a top speed boost when compared with its rivals – although just how much was not clear.

The wing passed the FIA regulations with the static load tests but, following pressure from rivals, McLaren agreed with the governing body to make modifications to this low-downforce specification for when it potentially reappears at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Red Bull’s minor tweaks
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Red Bull Racing RB20 technical detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Red Bull has been on the backfoot of late, as the RB20 has failed to deliver the level of performance that had been anticipated.

Updates that arrived during the season have further narrowed the car’s working window.

And, whilst the team now seemingly understands where things went wrong for it in terms of the development cycle, the fixes won’t be available overnight.

Regardless of its long-term solutions, it also has to focus its efforts on improving the car on a race-by-race basis and as such, it modified its front brake assembly for the Singapore Grand Prix.

This was an effort to both help improve brake cooling and alter the transmission of heat between the brakes and tyres, via the wheel rim.

This is the type of small detail change that we’ve seen teams make for a number of years but is less obvious with this generation of car. That is because the outermost brake drum must be sealed, rather than having the openings that many used for aerodynamic effect during previous regulatory eras.

In the case of this new arrangement on the RB20, the design of the inner basket has been altered to include a trench-like cutout, with a window around a portion of the brake disc, which also has a metal component, which may act as a heatsink.

The arrangement that’s being employed will reroute heat being generated by the brakes around the assembly and out the rear-facing duct that’s mounted on the inboard face of the brake duct fence.

Ferrari’s new front wing
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Ferrari SF-24 front wing comparison

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Meanwhile, there was a new front wing on the menu for Ferrari in Singapore, as it looked to further capitalise on the performance uplift that its recent floor updates have provided in the last few races.

Originally scheduled for the United States Grand Prix and fast-tracked for Singapore, it is understood that Ferrari put more of its focus on the wing’s flexibility under load, with rivals McLaren and Mercedes having seemingly made significant gains having focused on its potential.

This has resulted in several alterations being made to the front wing’s architecture, with the change made to the outboard flap and endplate juncture perhaps the most prominent of these features.

It has taken a very similar approach to McLaren here, as the MCL38’s wing sports a more aggressively dog-eared semi-detached flap design in order to help tune the vortex that’s spilled in that outer corner and had an impact on the wake generated by the wheel assembly thereafter.

The shape and distribution of the flaps has also been adjusted to better suit the aforementioned shift in outboard characteristics, whilst also taking into account how more flexion will have a bearing on its performance from both a downforce and drag perspective.

Notably, there’s also a change to the shape of the central section of the mainplane, with the depth and transitional shape of the drooped section amended.

 

McLaren Racing has reported a dramatic financial upswing for 2023, reflecting not only its revitalized on-track performance but also the strategic business decisions that have reshaped team papaya in recent years.

For its fiscal year 2023, McLaren announced in its annual financial report filed with the UK’s Companies House a significant 31% increase in revenue compared to 2022, generating £431 million ($573 million) during the fiscal year.

More notably, McLaren turned around its financial fortunes, shifting from a £9 million loss in 2022 to an impressive £30.4 million ($40 million) profit in 2023.


https://f1i.com/news/520765-mclaren-racing-enjoys-surge-in-profits-amid-on-track-resurgence.html

 

When they win the Constructors Championship they will get around $140 million in 2024.

 

Nice look at Oscar and his development in racing.

The talent spotters that moulded Piastri into an F1 winner
It is easy to forget this is only Oscar Piastri's second season in F1, but what is it that makes him so special? Autosport asks the two people who mentored his early career
Ben HuntOct 16, 2024, 3:44 PM
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/the-talent-spotters-that-moulded-piastri-into-an-f1-winner/10663046/


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Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, celebrates on arrival in Parc Ferme
Photo by: Dom Romney / Motorsport Images

"Oscar's brain is a supercomputer," says Oscar Piastri's early mentor, James Sera, who helped the McLaren driver navigate his early career in his native Australia. It is an unusual response when asked about the McLaren Formula 1 driver's most crucial characteristics.

When posed the same question, the man who oversaw Piastri's career when he moved to the UK latches onto the same theme. "It is his feel, his dexterity - the supercomputer; the brain," responds Rob McIntyre.

Two people independent of each other using the exact same term to characterise the 23-year-old might be somewhat unusual. But perhaps it is not so unusual, for Piastri at least.

The Melbourne native’s ascent to the top of the F1 podium has been so rapid that it is perhaps understandable to forget he is only in his second season. Not only that, but F1 observers have also been blindsided by the incredible levels of maturity that defy his age, alongside a remarkable degree of calmness.

When McLaren was trying to manage the outcome of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Piastri was measured in his reaction to the situation. More supercomputer than superhuman, processing away behind the wheel and detached from emotion.
Piastri never allowed himself to panic as negotiations between McLaren's pit wall and Norris continued in Hungary
Piastri is an undeniable talent and one that those who know him best saw at an early age when he raced radio-controlled cars in Australia, winning the second class and progressing to the top level when he was nine years old. It was then, around 2011, when he first met Sera having been sought out by Piastri's father, Chris, to help with his fledgling career.

“A mutual friend involved in karting and RC racing had told Chris to come in and see me about getting Oscar into karting, as at the time, Oscar was around nine years old and was racing RC cars,” Sera tells Autosport. “I was running a business in karting, selling, servicing and coaching drivers all around the country. So after a very short conversation with Chris, he committed to buying Oscar his first go-kart.

“I was then involved in Oscar's early career between the ages of nine and 14 before he left for Europe to race for Ricky Flynn. Oscar was a great kid. From the moment we met, it was a great relationship and we went away karting most weekends of the year together.

"It was clear he should race some more in Europe and although there were no F1 talks that early, I definitely encouraged his family to send him to Europe, which for a 14-year-old is no easy feat" James Sera

“Back then, he was exactly as he is now, calm, quiet and extremely willing to learn. He has a persona like no other kid I've ever been involved with, and because of his outstanding attitude, he is just such a likeable kid. I was blown away by his calm attitude and how extremely intelligent he was for his age.”

Sera says he quickly identified characteristics that set Piastri aside from his competitors in Australia, and recognised that he would need to move to Europe to develop his career.

“I knew early on that Oscar had something different to the other kids I had coached and mentored here in Australia,” he adds. “He got an opportunity to go race the I2014 AME International Final, where Oscar grabbed third place. From there it was clear he should race some more in Europe and although there were no F1 talks that early, I definitely encouraged his family to send him to Europe, which for a 14-year-old is no easy feat.”

Piastri leaving Sera's stewardship to move to the UK with his father led to a chance encounter with McIntyre, who had previously run karting teams, worked in scouting programmes unearthing talent and as a driver manager.

“My background is professional go-kart racing,” McIntyre says. “Having worked in motorsport all my life in various guises, my real passion is working in karting because it's more about the driver, and you can see what's going on.

“Typically, I go to two or three big international races a year, even now, and I go watch. So, back in 2016, I went to a European championship race and [when I] saw this little Aussie kid batting round and I thought, 'Okay, yeah, you're quite good'. He was driving for Ricky Flynn Motorsport. Ricky was my best man at my wedding and I said 'so, the little Aussie kid is pretty fast. What do you know?’

“Oscar would have been 15. Rick basically said, 'yeah, really fast, very technical, super-smart'. When I looked at his data, the way he uses the steering and the way he uses pedals, he was so dexterous. He's got an amazing feel. I thought, 'this kid is going to go really well in a car'.

“At the time, I was helping Arden International, owned by Gary and Christian Horner and they had a young driver academy. So I was helping those guys out, doing a little bit of mentoring, a bit of spotting. So I got Oscar's father's telephone number, rang him and said, 'hey, you don't know me. This is what I do. This is my background. I work with Arden International when you want to go in a car, give me a shout'. Simple as that.

“We met for the first time. We had lunch outside of Hertford where I used to live because they had a small apartment in Hoddesdon the next town down. We talked, because of my knowledge about intelligent electronics - I'm not an engineer, I should say - but I did my due diligence. I tried to understand what Oscar's father's business was. So straight away, there was a bit of rapport, and also my racing passion and enthusiasm.

“Oscar sat there as a 15-year-old eating his fries and not saying a word. Chris was looking for somebody to give him a little bit of guidance. So we started to talk. We started to set things up. I got him into Arden and he went on the simulator, and the guys at Arden like, 'wow'.”

Despite initially impressing the Arden engineers on the simulator, it was not until his debut in a car that he did something that set him apart. McIntyre recalls the moment he realised Piastri was a class above: “We organised for him to go to Anglesey and he'd never been in a racing car before. We had an old BRDC F4 car, it was damp. He went out straight away and the left past the pits on his second run, there were five big seagulls sitting there. As Oscar comes roaring past, they limber into the air and he caught one of the seagulls with his wing mirror and it took the wing mirror off!

“When he came in, we looked at the data and he had not even lifted. The Arden engineers kept saying to me, 'he's definitely been in a car before'. I had to say 'guys, he hasn't been in a car before'.

“They set a benchmark time for him; Jack Aitken had been in the car and set a time. They said, 'listen, if you can get within three seconds at this time, happy days.' By the end of the day, he was faster than the benchmark.”

With their son's career looking promising, Piastri's family had to make the difficult decision. While their son was racing in Europe, his father needed to return to Australia for his business and family commitments. The future F1 ace was offered the choice of returning to Australia, but decided that he would remain in the UK at boarding school to further his education and racing career.

"We knew if we went to Euro F3, we were going to be with a mid-level team, it was going to cost €900,000" Rob McIntyre

McIntyre adds: “Chris started to talk about how it was going to work. For all the success of all the Australians [at home], you have to race in Europe if you're going to make it. So he said 'okay, can he go to school here?' He went Haileybury College and a lot of racing drivers went there, because they are missing so much school.

“Oscar came to the UK in September 2016 and went to Haileybury College; I was just down the road, not that he needed me, because he was unbelievably independent even as a 15-year-old. Very calm, cool and collected, just really sensible. Occasionally I'd get a call saying a flight has been cancelled and can I help.

“Through 2017, Chris started to talk to me about a bit more help and asked me whether I would I be interested in working solely with Oscar and help on the journey. The British F4 season went unbelievably well. He won loads of races. The championship went down to the last weekend and Oscar finished second. Jamie Caroline won the championship.”

Piastri juggled his racing career with his education, skipping a testing day at Silverstone while he sat a GCSE exam before turning up for the races. With McIntyre by his side, he progressed through the junior categories, opting to race in the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2018 rather than the European Formula 3 championship that launched Max Verstappen directly to F1.

“We knew if we went to Euro F3, we were going to be with a mid-level team, it was going to cost €900,000,” explains McIntyre, who placed his charge at Arden for 2018 before joining R-ace GP for 2019. “The following year, guess what's going to happen? We're going to do exactly the same again. You've got to be in the right team.

“So I worked with [R-ace GP boss] Thibaut de Merindol. With a new car, the new engine, he won the [2019] championship and my phone is ringing non-stop. People offering him drives for very little money and then [Prema team principal] Rene Rosin contacted me.

“Oscar and I went to Prema and had a fantastic meeting. When I got back into the hire car, I asked Oscar, 'what do you think?' And he said, 'it's a no brainer, isn't it?' And absolutely it was because they'd come 1-2-3 in the [Formula 3] championship.”

It was at that time McIntyre and Piastri's father decided to seek some extra help in masterminding the racer's career to F1. They turned to nine-time grand prix winner Mark Webber and his wife, Ann Neal, to ensure the money they had ring-fenced for Piastri's career was being spent well.

“Even though the top teams want you, you still have to write a big cheque and trying to find sponsorship or support outside of your own nation is impossible,” McIntyre continues. “Oscar was doing some work with [exercise physiologist and sports scientist] Simon Sostaric, who knew Mark. So through Simon, I asked Mark and Ann if they want to get involved.

“We went to meet Mark and Ann and Chris is very, very laid back. This is early 2019 and by now the Prema deal is all done and dusted. But Chris turned up in a shirt - I've never seen him ever in a shirt! We built a relationship with Mark and Ann and then we did the deal and so through F3 and F2 we used their contacts.”

Piastri's success in the Eurocup had opened up a spot with the Alpine Academy. He'd finished his GCSEs and A Levels and was now free to concentrate on his racing career. He travelled with McIntyre during the COVID-hit 2020 season, when he won the Formula 3 title. He repeated the achievement in 2021 with victory in the Formula 2 championship.

By now his achievements had caught the eye of McLaren, who succeeded in poaching Piastri from Alpine by offering an F1 seat for 2023. Piastri has since thrived at McLaren under Andrea Stella and with the benefit of Webber and Neal now guiding his career, he is being moulded into the superstar F1 driver seen today.

“He's super calm, super composed,” concludes McIntyre, who has now taken a backseat. “To say, what are his strengths through the period of time that I worked with him? His brain, and it's his composure. When you put that together, he's able to see the big picture.

"Mark and Ann have been fantastic mentors, but he is the same as the 15-year-old that arrived here from Australia" Rob McIntyre

“When he's talking to the engineers, the engineers say XYZ, he will go out and do XYZ. [It is] his ability to replicate and do that. He can also go back X amount of years, and talk about a particular corner on a certain lap, it's just mind-blowing.

“When Oscar wins, you'll see there's a smile and a little bit of jubilation. But straight back [after] he looks at what could I have improved?

“Mark and Ann have been fantastic mentors, but he is the same as the 15-year-old that arrived here from Australia. He's just got that passion and enthusiasm for it. Only he does not show it externally.”

 

Fully agree

Verstappen: Piastri "too good" to support Norris at McLaren
Verstappen says he would have never accepted to be Norris' rear-gunner in Formula 1 title run-in

 

Mclaren car side of the business news:

McLaren Is An Emirati Car Company Now
The company's automotive business will be purchased by Abu Dhabi-based CYVN Holdings

This deal with CYVN also includes the Emirati holding company taking a non-controlling interest in McLaren Group, though few details were provided regarding the quantity of money changing hands or what percentage of the McLaren parent company would be traded. Mumtalakat Holding will remain the majority owner of McLaren Group, with full controlling interest.

The Abu Dhabi-based investment firm CYVN Holdings has agreed to purchase 100 percent of McLaren Automotive from its current owners, Mumtalakat Holding, reports Reuters. Mumtalakat Holding is the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, which assisted McLaren through a “capital reorganization” earlier this year, taking full ownership of the decades-old British company, including the company’s various racing endeavors (Formula One, Formula E, Extreme E/H, and sports cars) in the process.

 

From Bahrein to Abu Dhabi - it's not like if a UK company was bought by a Middle-East company.

 

Ok why make Oscar give up a nice sprint win lol

McLaren insists Norris title was never main goal following Brazil setback
While Lando Norris’s hopes of winning the drivers’ crown are all but over, McLaren says its main ambition remains intact

 

yeah, bizarre statement. Really bizarre.

Especially a few months ago when they claimed there's no reason to win 9 races in a row (they won 2 in a row).

 

I can understand McLaren trying to put a brave face after Norris failing to close the gap on Verstappen, and the prospect of winning the WDC looking now like a pipe dream. "Oh, that wasn't our target anyway!" Right, who believes that ?
They can claim that in the comfort of leading the WCC, with good chance to win it.
At least they had a good season, and will not finish 2024 empty handed.

Years ago, I remember the same rethoric coming from Maranello (I can't say which year but probably in the 90s) at the end of one season when they clinched the WCC, but failed to take the WDC. It was said then than a win in the constructors championship was more important for Ferrari than one of their drivers taking the drivers championship. I think many took that as a typical PR exercise.

 

yea it's a typical PR exercise...and as you say, no one believes it anyways.


When you have the fastest car for that long a time how can the WDC not be the target..?! What nonsense.

 

Good to see them back stronger now Mclaren. Hopefully its good for them next year and others so we have a nice fight up front and not mid - pack.

McLaren reveals “brave risk” approach to 2025 F1 car design
McLaren plans to push the boundaries with next year’s car as it bids to build on its 2024 success
Jonathan Noble Dec 10, 2024, 9:00 AM
McLaren has revealed that it is taking some ‘brave risks’ with its 2025 car design, as it sets its sights on a Formula 1 title double.

The Woking-based team has just ended a 26-year wait for the constructors’ championship, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri helping it secure the crown at last weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

However, after seeing Norris beaten to the drivers’ crown by Max Verstappen, the focus is clearly on going one better on that front next season.

Off the back of a year that far exceeded its initial expectations, McLaren CEO Zak Brown has explained that the approach to 2025 will be completely different – both in terms of its ambition and its mindset.

Speaking exclusively to Autosport, Brown said that the team was not complacent about the pace of its current car and had elected to push the boundaries next year in chasing some ambitious design ideas.

“We're going into next year at full strength,” said Brown.

“I think we're in a different mindset now in terms of the confidence of the team and the amount of bravery that the team is prepared to take in the development in next year's car.

“The team is not: 'let's just tweak a little here and there. The car is pretty good.' We've got some stuff on next year's car that is like ‘brave risk’.


“I think you only get to the front if you try and beat everyone, as opposed to the mindset when we started this year which was like ‘let’s just be as good as them.' The mind shift is now: ‘let's beat everyone'."

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Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, the McLaren team celebrate after securing the Constructors Championship title

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Brown explained that McLaren knows it must be on the front foot in 2025 if it is stave off the threat of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, with all four squads having won races in the closing stages of the campaign.

“We’ve got to out-develop them, out-drive them, and out-strategise them - as opposed to this mindset of, ‘just don't make any mistakes.' That's just not competitive enough.

“Commercially we are now super strong, and we’ve got two great drivers. That's a huge strength.

“But damn the competition is good. Mercedes is right there, and the Ferraris and Red Bulls too, right?

“Just as you kind of feel like they're starting to slide a bit, they smash it. So I think you have got four teams next year, and any of them could be winning both championships.”

Off the back of a year where McLaren had to learn to win again, and admits to letting some opportunities slip through its fingers, Brown says the squad has gained a lot of confidence through everything it has been through.

“I think we'll be much more prepared next year, because I think we came into this year thinking not in a million years are we going to be where we are,” he said.

“We were almost even mentally not prepared. We weren't unprepared, but we just didn't go in with this mindset that we have right now.

“I think we'll go into next year knowing how damn hard it's going to be, but wanting to win the drivers’ and constructors’ world championships.

“This year it was, ‘let's be top three and see if we can get Lando his first win.’ We've moved on from that. Now it's we've got two drivers that can compete for the world championship, and let's go for both.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/mclaren-reveals-brave-risk-approach-to-2025-f1-car-design/10681205/

 

Interesting assessment of Mclaren winning as a non works team and the rules/regs that have enabled this.

Chassis is the key as well. Must have both. Almost more chassis than PU now given the parity the rules are designed for.

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/mclaren-proved-former-f1-bosses-completely-wrong/

 

Lando Christmas shopping in Monaco a couple of days of ago........in an F40.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/auEc813aHjU

 

Lando's F40 in Monaco involved in a crash. Lando was not driving. In-experienced driver spun the back tires on a straight section and lost the rear end. Only sustained rear-end damage and quite possibly his ego.

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Alunni Bravi lands wide-ranging McLaren role after Sauber exit
High-profile Sauber veteran joins McLaren in a newly created role at the team

 

The traction control was switched off perhaps ?

 

I really hope this post was intended to be sarcastic.

 

Mclaren at Paul Ricard doing Pirelli wet tire testing.

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2025 has also begun for Pirelli, who have begun testing for the 2026 cars in collaboration with McLaren, who tested the wet tyres on a cold day at Paul Ricard with lows of -2°C recorded on the asphalt of the French circuit during the morning.

Oscar Piastri took the wheel of the MCL60 (2023), while tomorrow Lando Norris will inherit the baton to carry out the second part of the tests which include laps on the “full-wet” tyres and on the intermediate compound.

In total, Piastri completed 120 laps on a 3.463km configuration of the French track, which corresponds to over 400km in total, with a best time of 1:07.008.

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Why McLaren has gone 'aggressive' with 2025 F1 car
Feb 13, 2025
by Jon Noble


McLaren boss Andrea Stella says that "pretty much every part" has been changed on its new MCL39 in its bid to produce another Formula 1 title winner.

The reigning constructors' champion squad revealed the car during a filming day at Silverstone on Thursday, becoming the first F1 team to show off its 2025 design.

The car features a number of visible changes compared to its 2024 MCL38 – including revamped front and rear suspension, a wider airbox inlet and tweaks to the sidepod inlets and shape that is in line with what Ferrari and Red Bull had last year.

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Speaking at the filming day, Stella revealed that the design overhaul went deeper than just what could be seen, with a new monocoque included in a push to improve every single component.

"This car is innovative," he said. "Pretty much every fundamental component of the layout has been subject to some innovation in order to gain...sometimes not only by marginal gains, some technical opportunities for development.


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"Most of the time these serve the purpose of aerodynamic requirements or in some other cases, for mechanical grip."

He added: "In reality pretty much from the front wing to the gearbox, crash structure, everything has been subject to optimisation. Sometimes incrementally, sometimes actually quite substantially."

Lando Norris was the first driver to try out the MCL39 during the promotional run at Silverstone, which is restricted to 200km.

 

McLaren and Oscar Piastri have agreed to extend their collaboration on a multi-year deal which stretches beyond their previous engagement which expired in 2026. Now the papaya team and the Australian look toward a long-term future in what has been a 'winning partnership.'

 

McLaren's early deal for Piastri wardens off interest from rival F1 teams
The team has secured the services of both Piastri and Norris for the foreseeable future

McLaren has now ensured it will be the benefactor of that prime Piastri, but just as important is that the Australian's new deal is a clear sign to its rivals looking to pick apart a winning squad.

"If you could have one of the McLaren drivers, which one would it be?"

Netflix's Drive to Survive producer barely managed to finish her sentence before Red Bull team boss Christian Horner blurted out: "Oscar."

Red Bull's interest in Piastri is not new, with Horner living to regret the decision not to snap up the young Australian for his junior team when he had the chance