Seidl confirms McLaren will bring updates to Mexico despite team focusing on 2020
F1 News
For McLaren, their season is pretty much done as they look to finish in the 'best of the rest' position. They have a comfortable 34 point lead over Renault with just four races remaining, but that isn't stopping them from pushing further. Team boss Andreas Seidl has confirmed the Woking-based team will bring upgrades to the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend.
Despite claiming the majority of the team is focusing on the 2020 car, the final few upgrades will be added to the car this weekend. In a way, it's understandable as there are no regulation or rule changes through the winter.
Carlos Sainz has recorded back-to-back top-six finishes as McLaren attempt to pull further away from Renault. Helped by Aston Red Martin Red Bull Racing's driver change, Sainz is actually ahead of both Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon in the F1 drivers' championship. But the new McLaren mentality means that they will never stop pushing forward.
"As we have seen in the last three or four races, we now clearly have the fourth-strongest car and I think we have everything in our hands to secure this P4 at the end of the season," he said in a conversation with Autosport.
"That would be a great achievement as a team. But at the same point, it is important to stay flat out for next year's car to make the next step. So we still keep improving the car and keep understanding the car better and better. In Japan, it was really working well and we will still bring some small bits to the next races. However, the majority of the team is flat-out on the 2020 car."
"I think we simply get better and better as a team and with the car; that means the understanding we got from the car and the performance of the car, by bringing continuously small little bits. We are in a happy place."