As we start looking ahead to the season to come, rather than back at the campaign just gone, one of the biggest hopes for this year is that someone (anyone) can challenge Red Bull and Max Verstappen in F1.
Thanks to its impressive form in the second half of 2023 and excellent driver line-up (not to mention an illustrious history – arguably second only to Ferrari), McLaren is one of the key teams fans will be looking to.
As Alex Kalinauckas shows in our cover feature this week, there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic about McLaren’s chances, though it might take a little longer for all its new assets to truly tell in the battle to close the gap to Red Bull.
We also take a look at the quality of the F1 races in 2023 and how they compare to the grands prix of recent years.
The new season – outside of the Dakar Rally – kicks off with Autosport International. We’ll have a full guide next week but there’s also a taster of the rebooted Birmingham show in this issue.
We’re not entirely done with looking back. Megan White hears from various motorsport stars who have driven for Prema Racing to find out what has made it so special over its first 40 years, while Tom Howard reviews the 2023 World Rally Championship and selects his top 10 drivers of the season.
Our National section on UK motorsport includes coverage of the Plum Pudding meeting at Mallory Park, a guest column from GB3 champion Callum Voisin and a list of the club drivers that won titles in 2023.
Sadly, the Christmas period was overshadowed last week by the news that Gil de Ferran had died at the age of 56. The 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner was a popular figure on both sides of the Atlantic and his loss will be felt across all of motorsport. Our tribute leads our Pit + Paddock news section, while NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough is also remembered.
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