McLaren Set For Exciting 2021 Season… But Will It Damage Their 2022 Hopes?
The introduction of a Mercedes Power Unit is proving to be a huge boost for McLaren in the 2021 Formula 1 season, and the British team are set for an exciting season, but will this damage their hopes for 2022?
Lando Norris secured a quite brilliant podium finish in Sunday’s race at Imola, showcasing a superb piece of driving to claim second spot from Charles Leclerc on the restart following the red flag, and whilst he was eventually caught by Lewis Hamilton, he managed to hold off the two Ferraris and keep third place.
Daniel Ricciardo freely admits that he is still adjusting to the car at McLaren, but he managed a very respectable sixth-placed finish on Sunday, with the expectation being that his pace will only continue to rise.
With Mercedes and Red Bull expected to form a constructors’ championship one-two come the end of the season, McLaren are emerging as the favourites to take home third place.
Their rise from the doldrums of 2014 has been noted and impressive, but I would suggest the amount of focus going into the 2021 car may be a problem.
The 2022 season will see a raft of regulation and specification changes in the sport, likely to turn the field upside down, with some teams already confirming they are working exclusively on next year’s vehicle.
So, what of McLaren? They are fighting for third place this year and are committed to improving as the season progresses, but this isn’t the McLaren Mercedes team of the Ron Dennis years; there isn’t the resources to work flat-out on two cars at one time.
You have to applaud a team that is working to be competitive in the now, rather than the future, but with the chances of winning the title so slim, you wonder whether McLaren may be best served by putting more resources towards 2022.
The cars behind them, especially Alpine, are working diligently on the 2022 car and could be more prepared than McLaren when the next season starts.
In the meantime, McLaren have a driver line-up that you’d be confident in moving forward if their car was of a standard to win in 2022.
Ricciardo is so consistent and always is in and around the points, whilst Norris looks to be perhaps the next British star, although George Russell is coming on leaps and bounds too.
McLaren are in a great place right now, which is fantastic for fans who watched the dark days of Fernando Alonso lambast the team for providing him with a GP2 car and GP2 engine, but you can’t help but wondering if the team aren’t being as proactive as they should be with regards to 2022.
