Breaking news
Formula 1
McLaren: No "mission impossible" to fight top three in 2021
McLaren boss Andreas Seidl says it is not "mission impossible" for his team to be in a position to challenge Formula 1's top three from the 2021 season, but he is also realistic about its own ambitions.
Pablo Elizalde Jonathan Noble
Edited: Jan 6, 2020, 3:35 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
A planned major rules overhaul is seen by several teams as an opportunity to break the status quo that has seen Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull win every race between them since the hybrid era started in 2014.
McLaren will switch to Mercedes engines for 2021, meaning it will be powered by the same unit that has won the last six championships.
Although Seidl concedes the top three will continue to run at the front even after the regulations change, he believes a significant leap for his team can't be ruled out.
"Short-term, my target is clearly that with next year's car we can make the next step, but at the same time we need to be realistic," said Seidl.
"For me, a very good step will be if we could jump somewhere in between where we are now and where these top teams are in terms of laptime, which would be a great achievement, but it's still hard work to get there because the top three teams will continue working on their cars as well."
Read Also:
He added: "The top three teams for this new era of Formula 1, they're not just where they are right now because of having more budget, they simply do a better job. So this means automatically also for '21 they will have a head-start.
"And the budget cap also will only kick in from '21 onwards, so there we need to be realistic, they will still be at the front from 2021 onwards.
"But still, we have also seen in the past, it's not a 'mission impossible'. We just need to be realistic and also be patient enough whilst also having ambitious targets but be realistic that [it] simply takes time until everything falls into place.
"That wasn't different for a Mercedes or a Red Bull when they started. The most important thing is to have a clear vision, a clear plan of how we want to tackle the future, how to get everything in place step by step. And then it's just down to us to make it happen as a team."
McLaren finished in fourth place in the constructors' championship in 2019, its best result since it was third in 2012.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Verstappen: Red Bull has built foundation for F1 title shot
Next article Steiner: "Very naive" to think 2021 rules will change F1 order
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Pablo Elizalde
Alpine becomes Pramac's main partner in MotoGP
MotoGP
MotoGP
Alpine becomes Pramac's main partner in MotoGP
Liberty Media's $4bn MotoGP deal facing EU probe
MotoGP
MotoGP
Liberty Media's $4bn MotoGP deal facing EU probe
Ocon wants answers to understand pace slump against Alpine team-mate
Formula 1
Formula 1
Ocon wants answers to understand pace slump against Alpine team-mate
More from
McLaren
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
WEC
WEC
Barcelona
3 h
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
Why McLaren cannot fix its F1 car handling until 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Why McLaren cannot fix its F1 car handling until 2027
Latest news
Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 4 min
Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature
NASCAR to allow brake rotor and pad changes after Phoenix qualifying
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
30 min
NASCAR to allow brake rotor and pad changes after Phoenix qualifying
Why Christian Horner banned Mercedes' name as Red Bull built its own F1 engine
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
46 min
Why Christian Horner banned Mercedes' name as Red Bull built its own F1 engine
Laurent Mekies extends contract as Red Bull's F1 team boss
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
2 h
Laurent Mekies extends contract as Red Bull's F1 team boss
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe