McLaren sporting director Sam Michael says Lotus not a major threat to the team – Formula 1 news
McLaren sporting director Sam Michael has said that he is pleased with the progress of the team.
He believes that the MP4-27 is a strong car and will be able to progress further in the season with improved results. The team was able to start the season strongly but lost its dominance as other teams brought in updates for their respective cars.
Jenson Button especially struggled with the car and the Pirelli tyres, while Lewis Hamilton although not very successful remained consistent. McLaren have now introduced a major upgrade to the car and both drivers have found their groove back. Button came
in second at the German Grand Prix while finished fourth at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix, giving the Brit a major boost in his bid for the drivers title. Michael believes that McLaren will continue to develop the car relentlessly in order to get the desired results and maintain their superior pace.
“That's our target. Yes we brought upgrades to every race - we took some big ones to Hockenheim and some small ones to here but still important - and our target is to keep pushing for the rest of the season on this. And I think we'll need it to be competitive
in the championship; we are behind at the moment and our job is to get back in front and we have a fast enough car to do that at the moment,” he said.
Lotus at the moment is only a point behind McLaren, and Michael said that he understands the threat Lotus brings but was adamant that McLaren is only focussing on its own performances and are enjoying the boost that Hamilton has provided the team with his
victory at Hungaroring.
He admitted that Lotus have a fast car on them and worrying about them will not do much good to McLaren. The team is looking to make the car faster and after the summer break when everyone is refreshed the team will get into it.
McLaren are leaving the season break with a high and it will be interesting to see whether they are able to maintain that after they comeback in a month for the Belgian Grand Prix.
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