McLaren & Renault Expecting Tough Battle For P3 As Season Nears End

Heading into the Turkish GP, Otmar Szafnauer and Andreas Seidl have shared their thoughts on the “best of the rest” battle.

With Mercedes having already secured the Constructors’ Championship, all eyes have turned to the tightly contested battle between Racing Point, Renault, and McLaren for third in the standings.

Commenting on the difficult contest for third place this year, McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl stressed the importance of fielding two strong drivers who can consistently score points.

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“One big asset that we have in the team is having two strong drivers that always manage to pull it off…It’s definitely a big asset in this battle for P3,” he said.

Furthermore, Seidl feels that the car is a big step forward from last year’s chassis, but could still use some improvement, stating: “We know we still have a lot to improve as a team in all areas, and one thing that is obvious is clearly the performance of the car.

“That is something we work hard on as a team – together between the race team and the development team. That’s what we are focusing on.”

Meanwhile, Racing Point team principal Otmar Szafnauer stressed that every point will matter this season.

“I fully expect the battle to go right down to the wire in Abu Dhabi, that’s a measure of just how strong the competition is.”

However, Szafnauer remains optimistic about the remaining races:

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“We believe the RP20 is well suited to Turkey, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, so we expect to be strong in all four of the remaining races. It’s down to us now to maximise the performance potential of our package and secure solid points in all of the remaining races.”

Both McLaren and Racing Point are hoping to surmount their one point deficits to Renault when racing returns to Istanbul this weekend. 

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