McLaren will deliver a “major upgrade” for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi according to racing director Eric Boullier.
Whilst the final race is worth double points, that isn’t the reason McLaren are introducing it there, but rather they hope it will benefit next year’s car whilst also boosting the MP4-29’s performance.
“We have another major upgrade coming before the end of the season,” said Boullier during a McLaren-Mercedes phone-in.
“It is not designed to bring an advantage for the double points, it is more about building the foundations for the future. 100 per cent it is applicable to next year’s car.”
The team have outscored everyone but Mercedes and Red Bull at the last two races and opened a 20 point gap to Force India. On the other side, they’ve also closed to within 45 points of Ferrari.
Surpassing Ferrari is feasible according to Boullier, but it’s not a specific target for the team.
“If the performance on our car is good and we can deliver some strong races like in Russia we will see if we can take back another championship position. I would be delighted to,” he added.
“I don’t think we have a clear target this year other than rebuilding the team and getting ready to fight back as soon as possible.”
