Racing Point is to overhaul the design of their 2019 car which will boost their performance “forever”, according to team boss Otmar Szafnauer.
The former Force India team has been in a funny situation this season with the RP19 not as advanced in development compared to many midfield rivals but still producing enough results to sit fifth in the Constructors’ standings.
And now, as the impact of last year’s takeover and fresh investment grows, Racing Point hopes to bring the first fruits of it in July.
“This is a big one [upgrade],” he told Motorsport.com. “The aerodynamic philosophy changes as well, so it’s a big thing. We have to try and get it in asap, hopefully before Hungary.”
Making such a dramatic shift in design approach does have pitfalls, as proven by Williams’ issues over the past two years, but Szafnauer played down any concerns.
“It’s not a risk, no. I think other people are already doing what we’re trying to do,” he claimed.
“A lot of things will change, directionally it’s the right thing, and it’s something that will also continue to help improve the car forever.”
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Technical director Andrew Green labelled the upgrades as “almost a new car”, though did admit the biggest impact of Racing Point’s new reality may not be fully seen until 2020.
“We are still playing catch up to a certain extent, but we’re not stopping, that’s the beauty. We’re not going to stop learning now and focus on something else, all the ideas we’ve got keep on developing,” he said.
“They’re all coming through, update after update. I don’t think we’ll catch up fully until the new car. Next year is a ground-up new car.”
