Marko: "McLaren benefits most from the reform in F1"

With the introduction of the budget cap in 2021, the top teams will have to make concessions if they are to meet the ceiling. This means that they will have to cut back on staff and restructure the entire business operations. The smaller teams will have an easier time of it and McLaren is in the most favourable position of all. At least, according to Helmut Marko.

Bypass

According to Helmut Marko of Red Bull Racing, McLaren has done well with the planned engine change. At Auto, Motor und Sport he says: "McLaren can bypass some of the homologation rules with his engine change from Renault to Mercedes and intervene in areas that are closed to others. This opens up loopholes."

That shows a different situation with Haas, because they are allowed to spend up to 125 million dollars. The reason for this is because the development share is deducted from the Ferrari purchased parts. Now at Haas that will make little difference, since their budget is not in that region, but they are bound by fixed rules.

At McLaren they are somewhat lost because they change engines at exactly the right (?) moment, which puts them in a unique position. This is of course beneficial for the British team, but Marko doesn't expect that they will immediately become a major competitor.

"McLaren can get closer. They are well positioned in terms of personnel and technology, and from next year they will have a competitive engine. But you can't go from one year to the next to the top," said.