Despite Mercedes Engine, McLaren F1 Boss Makes a Sad Statement Concerning Team’s Future Plans

The McLaren F1 team is all set to partner Mercedes once again from next season onwards. However, team boss Andreas Seidl confessed that the coronavirus lockdown has put a damper on their plans.

Ever since their disastrous Honda stint, McLaren has been slowly and steadily rebuilding itself from the ground up. The team even managed to snatch 4th place in the 2019 F1 championship and ended their podium drought.

However, with the entire season ground to a halt, there is nothing that anyone can do to progress. In spite of this, Seidl believes that the team can continue its arduous trek back to the top when the 2020 season finally commences.

Speaking to media personnel, the McLaren team principal said, “The most important thing at the moment is to go through this crisis. Survive it as a team and as Formula 1.”

“It’s a tough situation for everyone. But I’m confident that as soon as we are through this crisis that we simply can continue the positive momentum we had before we all went into the shutdown.”

How is McLaren handling the crisis?

Seidl is taking care of a massive intra-team restructuring and is set to introduce several improvements. Some of them include the team’s infrastructure, namely a planned new wind tunnel.

McLaren is also banking on the 2021 technical regulations to catch the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. Annoyingly, those regulations are delayed until the 2022 season. So, midfield teams have to wait longer to potentially benefit from a potential shake-up.

Despite the delay to the technical regulations, the $150 million budget cap is still on schedule for 2021 and beyond. The finer details are still up for discussion, with McLaren hoping for a reduced figure as a response to the coronavirus crisis.

Seidl concluded, “We would like to see the budget cap as low as possible. We have put out the number of $100 million, which is something we would be in favour of.

“I clearly see a commitment from everyone, understanding that we are in a big crisis and that we have to make big decisions to make sure we protect the teams and protect Formula 1.”