Sergio Perez believes Racing Point can target McLaren for fourth in the Constructors’ standings in 2020.
The Silverstone-based outfit is looking forward to a more normal season after the fallout from the Vijay Mallya era and Lawrence Stroll’s eventual takeover had a knock-on effect with their 2019 project.
In fact, last year saw the former Force India squad score their lowest points total since 2011 with 73, something that frustrated the Mexican.
“We knew that [would be difficult] from the start, but it’s still tough in such a long season,” Perez told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.
“We didn’t improve as much as we wanted, as we were late and had too much to catch up, but we have put a lot of effort into 2020.”
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And that effort, Perez hopes, can see Racing Point return to the heights achieved back in 2016-2017 when they led the midfield.
“I think this can be the first season under the new leadership where we can be very strong,” he said. “We want to finish fourth, that is our main goal.
“The team is now stable and I hope that in 2020 we will not only attack McLaren but also be significantly closer to the top teams.”
On Monday, Racing Point also received a boost as it emerged they have become the first team to pass the mandatory FIA crash tests with their 2020 car.
“We’ve improved a lot,” team boss Otmar Szafnauer was quoted by RaceFans.
“I think we’re up to the same level as everybody else. Manufacturing improvements, we’ve hired people. There’s a lot of things we’ve done that are now better.
“That should bode well for 2020.”