Bolstering positions in both championships is the aim for McLaren heading to this weekend’s Mexico Grand Prix.
The British team has once again established a healthy lead of 34 points over Renault in the battle for fourth in the Constructors’ standings, this after it was cut to just 18 following the Italian GP.
Given McLaren also have the fourth fastest car predominantly too, it would appear that place is safe but team boss Andreas Seidl is backing off just yet.
“We go to Mexico with clear objectives in mind,” said the German.
“The high altitude at the track poses an interesting challenge when setting up the car on Friday, so we’ll be working hard to optimise our aero package for qualifying and the race.
Also Read:
- Sainz: Matching Albon & Leclerc pace the ‘nicest surprise’ of 2019 at Suzuka
- Sainz: Every midfield success feels like a victory
“As we head into these final few races, our focus remains on maximising the opportunities to score points through work at the track and back at the factory.
“Our position in the Constructors’ Championship is not yet secured and we must keep pushing to ensure we leave nothing to chance. It’s still all to play for and I look forward to some exciting racing.”
Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz faces a stiffer task as he tries to hold off Pierre Gasly and particularly Alex Albon for P6, having inherited that position after an impressive fifth in Japan.
“Jumping to sixth position in the Drivers’ Championship after another strong weekend in Suzuka is encouraging and it only adds up to our motivation to keep pushing until the end of the year,” the Spaniard commented.
“It won’t be easy to keep that position but I’ll fight for it with everything we’ve got. We also took another important step in the Constructors’ Championship, but we need to keep focused.”
Currently, Sainz sits three points clear of Gasly and only 12 ahead of Albon as the Thai driver settles in at Red Bull.
Finally, Lando Norris may have less to play for in the standings, but after a run of unfortunate races, the Briton will be keen to return to the points in Mexico City.
“I think it [Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez] has been one of our slightly better tracks in the past,” he said.
“Last year [at Suzuka], I don’t think both drivers got out of Q1 and we were quite a long way off even getting into Q2, so for us to get into Q3 was a good improvement.
“Considering last year Mexico was one of the slightly better ones, I think we can be a bit more upbeat, more hopeful. But until we get there, I don’t know.”