Former F1 champion Damon Hill issues SURPRISE verdict over best performing team this season

McLaren

Former F1 champion issues SURPRISE verdict over best performing team this season

Damon Hill reveals who he believes have been the best performing team this season

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 14 August 2023 19:42

Damon Hill has said that he believes McLaren have been the most impressive team this season, when taking Red Bull out of the equation.

McLaren struggled in the early part of the season, but have recently had a huge upturn in performances and, barring the Belgium Grand Prix, have looked the most likely to bring a challenge to Red Bull's dominance in the second half of the season.

Lando Norris had two second place finishes in a row before Spa, and teammate Oscar Piastri has impressed too, with a first podium surely on the way for the Australian.

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Former F1 champion Damon Hill has clearly been impressed with the Woking-based team, picking them as his best performing team of the season.

“The answer to the question [who has had the best season so far aside from Red Bull] is McLaren. They’ve had a fantastic turnaround in their season and they are running a competitive car," he told the F1 Nation podcast.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been enjoying an improved package in recent races

“One that other teams are looking at and thinking, ‘Wow that’s a strong package’ – and Oscar’s [Piastri] performance has been great. They’ve got Lando [Norris] and Oscar, two really good young drivers and they’ll be feeling cock-a-hoop about the season so far.”

Aston Martin 'plateauing'?

Aston Martin's early season performance seems to have gone away from them a little bit, and the rise of teams like McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari has seen them often fall down the points positions.

“The trend for Aston [Martin] has plateaued and they’ve sort of been overtaken – they might even have gone backwards a little bit," he admitted.

“And Ferrari basically have had their hiccups as well, been sort of up and down all season. But I am going to throw someone else in there to consider…Williams.

“Although they haven’t been right at the sharp end, they haven’t half done a fantastic job with probably minimal resources to get to where they are now. They definitely also have turned a corner.