McLaren “not going to sacrifice” 2020 season in preparation for 2021

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has that they are “not going to sacrifice” their 2020 Formula 1 season ahead of the sporting, technical and financial regulation changes set to make a big change in 2021.

The fresh partnership of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris helped McLaren to a P4 finish in the constructors championship last season, finishing on 145 points, 54 ahead of fifth placed Renault.
 
But with little change from 2019 to 2020 in regulations, compared to the change for next year, Seidl still wants the Woking-based team to focus on improvement for the upcoming season.
 
“The speed of your 2020 car will determine to some degree when you switch all your resources towards 2021,” said Seidl.
 
“It’s a juggling act that we have every year, but it’s more extreme this time because of the change in technical regulations for 2021.
 
“We’re not going to sacrifice 2020; we want to have another good season because it’s important for the development of the team to have continuous improvement.”
 
As for the improvements Seidl wants to make for 2020, he states the ambition for McLaren to reach the top again, with his team working hard to make progress to that goal year by year.
 
“Everywhere,” he said of McLaren’s improvements for 2020.
 
“Our aim is to become the best in this sport again in the future and we know that we are far away from this right now.
 
“We won’t get carried away with the good season we’ve just had; we’ll stay humble and continue to respect our competitors.
 
“We are aware of our weaknesses and will continue working hard with the plan we have in place in order to improve.
 
“We are on a journey and you can feel great momentum in the team. Our one team approach and the commitment we have from the shareholders means I’m optimistic that we can be successful again, but you need to be realistic about what’s achievable year-by-year.