McLaren boss Andreas Seidl has ruled out the team bringing 2020 development parts to grands prix this year, hinting at a partial concept change for the design of its MCL35.
McLaren has risen from sixth in 2018 – effectively seventh due to Force India’s points loss – to fourth this year, and has edged clear of the midfield through the course of the campaign.
It has also continued to make changes off-track, with Seidl joining as Team Principal in May, and Mercedes power to return to its cars from 2021.
Some teams have brought concept items for 2020 – such as Williams, which trialled a new front wing in Japan – while Ferrari is set to retain the same car philosophy.
Seidl explained that “it wouldn’t make sense” for McLaren to bring prototype 2020 components as “at the moment we don’t see anything in terms of carryover parts."
“I wouldn’t call it radical,” he said when asked if that meant a drastic change for the 2020 car but added that “with the gap we’re having to the top cars, under the same regulations, we try to make a big – or a decent – step, which means that some of the concept stuff of the car we will change.
“There is stuff you can carryover to next year but it’s not like we develop our stuff for next year’s car and then bring it [in 2019].”
Seidl added that McLaren will “still bring some small bits to the next races” but that “we are making sure that the team is flat out on the 2020 car.”
