McLaren Prepares for Potential Portuguese Grand Prix at Season's End

In the days following the Hungarian Grand Prix, the McLaren team headed to the Portimão circuit in Portugal for a two-day test with their 2023 car, as part of their vintage car testing program.

Behind the wheel of the MCL60 during the two-day trials at the Portuguese track were the team's two main drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, along with reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli. For Piastri and the reigning Formula 2 champion Fornaroli, this was their first opportunity to experience Portimão in a Formula 1 car, while Norris had a chance to reacquaint himself with a track he had raced on twice in 2020 and 2021.

As is known, Portugal is one of the options to host the final race of the season if the Qatar and Abu Dhabi races cannot take place. For this reason, McLaren's test at the track could be seen as preparation by the British team for a potential championship visit to the Algarve later in the year.

Naturally, McLaren did not disclose the lap times achieved by their drivers, but they did note how many laps each completed. Front-runners Piastri and Norris, who drove in the two morning sessions, completed 55 and 49 laps respectively, while Fornaroli completed 47 laps in each of the afternoon sessions. For comparison, a race distance at Portimão is equivalent to 66 laps.