Sainz looks ahead to F1 2021: Rules changes provide McLaren with an opportunity

McLaren stormed back up the F1 constructors' world championship during the 2019 season and beat Renault comfortably in the race for 'best of the rest'. Carlos Sainz finished the season in sixth after fighting with both Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly in the closing stages of the season. While 2020 will be the year they aim for more, Sainz looks ahead to 2021 which he believes will be an opportunity for the Woking-based team. 

F1 will be greeted with a rule and regulation overhaul when the 2021 season rolls around. The aim is to help those teams further down the grid to level with the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. Sainz is confident the gap will close between the top teams and rest. The Spaniard sees this as a "shortcut" to the top. 

"McLaren might have taken a lot of years to get back on top, but with '21 it allows us to create kind of a shortcut to a better position. I thin 2020 is still important because we want to continue the trend, but '21 is an opportunity," Sainz told Sky Sports. 

"I know that next year we're not going to fight for a world championship, but I also know that next year we have a good chance of making another good step, and that good step needs to come little by little. I don't say we need to do another 1.5-second step like we've done from last year to this year, but keep digging those tenths out of the car and just keep the way we're going at the moment."