McLaren not expecting 2019-style "huge step" in 2020
Zak Brown says he does not anticipate McLaren making the same "huge step" with its 2020 Formula 1 challenger as it did last season.
McLaren was a subdued sixth in its first season with Renault engines in 2018, following a turbulent three years with Honda, but was one of the surprises of last season as it finished fourth in the constructors' championship.
That included beating its supplier Renault, and Carlos Sainz recording McLaren's first podium finish since 2014 when he was promoted to third in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Brown said at Autosport International last year that McLaren anticipated a "good" 2019 car, and speaking on stage at this year's show said the team felt "pretty good" about its 2020 challenger but knows challenging regularly at the front will not "happen overnight".
"We need to keep going forward," said Brown. "We had a huge step, obviously, from 2018 to 2019.
"Part of that was we were so poor in 2018 that it was hard not to take a big step in 2019. So I don't see that same step coming from 2019 to 2020.
"The regulations are very, very similar, so I don't think the grid's going to look a lot different. There'll probably be a little bit of surprise here and there.
"Hopefully Williams gets a little bit stronger, that's not good to see them have the year that they had. So hopefully they'll pick up the pace a bit.
"For us, we're still a young team. James Key didn't develop last year's car, this year's [he] did. So let's see what that looks like. Andreas Seidl only joined in the middle of the year.
"Really, what we need to do is just get tidier, more race fit, get a good head-start, the 2021 car's already in the wind tunnel, we feel pretty good about the 2020 car.
"And we just need to kind of keep head down and know that it's not going to happen overnight.
"We're going to have some great weekends and we're going to have some bad weekends. But let's just hope that we keep moving forward."
McLaren has retained Sainz and Lando Norris for 2020, and Brown said the relationship between the two was "the best part" of 2019.
"They didn't know each other before and when we first introduced them, I think as Carlos said in one of his interviews, Lando was a bit shy, but they get along really well when they're on the track with each other," said Brown.
"I'm not nervous, unlike maybe the Haas duo; when they're around the track or anybody, I get nervous. They've got a real respect, but they they race each other really hard.
"And they they've been very great to work with and the sponsors and I think all the fans really enjoy them. It's great in this kind of new era of Formula 1 to expose what goes on in Formula 1 in a more natural way."
How Mercedes fooled 'naive' rivals in 2019
Nissany gets Williams practice outings in new test driver role
How Ferrari's Monaco headache became its Silverstone migraine
OPINION: Ferrari won the British Grand Prix with Carlos Sainz, but it ultimately cost Charles Leclerc a chance to make a bigger dent in Max Verstappen's title lead by leaving the Monegasque out on old tyres towards the end. Like Monaco, indecision over strategy proved to be the Scuderia's biggest issue - and if the team doesn't reflect, the headache can only intensify
The five factors that won Sainz a British GP he’d twice lost
Formula 1 has a newest race winner, in a grand prix the victor appeared to have lost twice, only to charge back to headline a sensational and dramatic British Grand Prix. From a massive start crash to a late sprint finish, here’s how five factors saw Carlos Sainz take his maiden grand prix win
Why there was no case to answer in Aston's latest F1 copycat saga
The appearance of a revised Aston Martin in Spain caused controversy but PAT SYMONDS explains why the FIA investigation found the Silverstone team had no case to answer
Why it's Red Bull that really leads a three-way fight so far at Silverstone
After a slow start to Friday at Silverstone, all the Formula 1 teams had to effectively cram in a day’s worth of practice into one hour. But there was still plenty to learn and while Ferrari topped the times, a three-way battle is brewing ahead of the British Grand Prix
Verstappen exclusive: Why F1's champion isn't fazed by Silverstone return
Max Verstappen is the world’s number one racing driver… and he’s determined to keep it that way. Speaking exclusively to GP Racing's OLEG KARPOV, the Red Bull driver explains why he’s relishing the 2022 championship battle with Charles Leclerc – and why he’s not worried about returning to Silverstone, the scene of the biggest accident of his career last year
Why Red Bull’s RB17 hypercar can help its F1 team
On Tuesday, Red Bull laid out its plans to develop and build a new hypercar - the RB17 - penned by Adrian Newey. As the project itself sates Newey as a creative outlet, it also offers Red Bull's Formula 1 team a number of new and exciting avenues to pursue.
What to expect from Mercedes as F1 returns to Silverstone
OPINION: The British Grand Prix is a home event for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, with their Mercedes team based just a few miles away too. But there’s another reason why the Silver Arrows squad is eager to arrive at Silverstone this weekend, which may help it fix its remaining problems with its 2022 Formula 1 challenger .
Inside AlphaTauri’s Faenza F1 factory
AlphaTauri’s mission in F1 is to sell clothes and train young drivers rather than win the championship – but you still need a cutting-edge factory to do that. Team boss Franz Tost takes GP Racing’s Oleg Karpov on a guided tour of a facility that’s continuing to grow.