McLaren are adamant that they’ll continue to push Red Bull and Ferrari until the very end of the season, no matter the situation in the championship, whether it mathematically possible or impossible to win.
To do that, McLaren’s managing director, Jonathan Neale, says the team will stick to its risksy strategy in order to maintain their position at the front, a position they’ve only enjoyed recently having beaten Red Bull in the previous two races.
“I think when you are coming from behind the Red Bulls, you have to take risks,” he told the official F1 website. “And we have taken risks with the car and we’ve taken risks with the driving.
“Some we got away with, and some of them we haven’t. But Formula One is not a business or a sport where you can sit back because everybody else is trying so hard. The moment you hesitate then you know that you will go backwards relative to the competition. And that’s not why we’re here,” added Neale.
With Red Bull enjoying a massive 103-point lead in the Constructors’ title and an 88-point lead over third place man Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ championship, overhauling such a lead will be a difficult task even with luck on their side.
Despite that, Neale says McLaren will fight to the very end, even if its impossible to win either title.
“We like to win races and have a huge appetite to win many more races this year. Mathematically, the titles are still possible and we will keep on fighting. But even if it wasn’t still possible, we wouldn’t back off.
“We’ve won four races so far this season and two races in a row, so I believe that we can do well this season. We certainly will not sit back. Of course at some point we will have to take a look at the balance of resources for next year, but I cannot imagine myself and Martin looking at each other and thinking ‘should we just lift now and stop’, I cannot imagine that – so we won’t!”
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