McLaren will be back on form for this weekends German Grand Prix, according to managing director Jonathan Neale.
He admitted the change in regulations at the British GP caught the team out and cost them ‘about 0.7s’ a lap, but with the FIA bowing to pressure and opting to return to pre-Silverstone regulations, McLaren believe they’ll be the ones challenging Red Bull again.
“When you look at Silverstone, the impact of the engine regulations and rules cost us more than both Ferrari and Red Bull – and that is a matter of fact, not opinion,” he is quoted as saying by Autosport during a Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes phone-in.
“We probably went backwards relative to them by about 0.7 seconds, that’s why we found ourselves dropping back. Up until then, we were the only ones putting up a creditable fight against Red Bull, having both drivers winning races.”
McLaren one of only two teams to beat Red Bull during a race this season, Ferrari being the other after Fernando Alonso romped to victory at Silverstone a fortnight ago.
Neale says the development pace of Ferrari isn’t something which worries them, but he and the team aren’t complacement and realise the challenge the Italian outfit presents.
“We’re not by any means being complacent about the progress that Ferrari has made, or the development of Red Bull, but our job is to beat both of them and that’s what we’re going to do.”
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