The saying goes that the facts don’t lie, which means when looking at the raw statistics, McLaren’s maiden season in Formula E will likely be judged overall as not a good one. Eighth in the teams’ championship – some 216 points behind champions Envision Racing – and only one rostrum across the 16 races is hardly something to write home about for a racing entity with such a successful motorsport heritage.
From the outside looking in, this was a squad with winning potential having acquired the foundations of the all-conquering Mercedes outfit that for two consecutive seasons had won the drivers’ and teams’ championships. When the German manufacturer decided that Formula E no longer ticked the boxes, motorsport CEO Toto Wolff and team principal Ian James helped broker a buyout from McLaren. The British squad had decided that 2023 was the time to move away from the role of supplier, having provided the batteries to the championship’s Gen2 machines, and into the category as its own entry.
With James remaining at the helm and majority of the staff also staying put, it would have been easy to assume the team would once again occupy the top step of the podium. In truth, though, it was never going to be as simple as that, not least because of having to adapt to the new Gen3 machine, a new Nissan powertrain due to being a customer outfit, as well as a completely new driver line-up.
Realistically the previous success was always going to be a difficult act to repeat, although initially it looked like things had clicked into place from the very outset of the new era. Formula E rookie Jake Hughes, a reserve driver for Mercedes previously, was given the call-up and duly delivered on the faith put in him straight away as he challenged towards the front on his debut in Mexico City before dropping to fifth by the flag.
Three-time DTM champion Rene Rast joined the team after a season away from the all-electric championship and recorded another fifth place for McLaren at the next round in Diriyah. The German followed this up the next day with third while Hughes took eighth after starting from pole in just his third Formula E start, all of which were encouraging signs less than a month into the campaign.
“A strong start, probably stronger than expected actually, although I had absolute confidence in the team coming over from its original form into joining the McLaren family,” says James, reflecting on the campaign.
Source: Autosport