McLaren’s Sam Michael confident about 2013 F1 season – Formula 1 news
Sam Michael, Sporting Director of McLaren, has admitted that he is looking forward to a strong 2013 F1 season for the team.
“The car was really quick in the last two races and I think we can look forward to some really strong performances next year,” he told Sky Sports News. “We have to make the normal gains you have to do over winter and Red Bull and Ferrari will be flat out
doing that, as will the other teams trying to catch up - Lotus and Mercedes. But we're pretty confident we can do the right things over the winter and start off strong. We're going to Melbourne to win.”
Michael added that the past season was a good one for McLaren even if they did not achieve the result they wanted by the end of it. However, he said that the car had become really strong towards the end and they expect to continue that into the next season.
Since the team has replaced its long term driver, Lewis Hamilton, with Sauber F1’s Sergio Perez for the next season, Michael said that certainly the team is working around it presently but they are also preparing to make next season a successful one which
requires a lot of their focus as well.
McLaren’s 2012 F1 season had been full of reliability issues that caused Hamilton’s many race retirements; some of them while he was leading the race after securing a pole. However, Hamilton’s race win in Austin over the new Circuit of the Americas during
the US GP was phenomenal and he was also leading the season ending Brazilian GP but again had to retire from the race. Brazilian GP was won by the second McLaren driver, Jenson Button.
Hamilton, who had been with the team since he was eleven, announced his transfer to Mercedes in September this year and McLaren team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, was quick to sign on Perez after being impressed by his podium finishes for Sauber F1.
Perez is looking forward to fill the big shoes of Hamilton and has admitted that he is aiming to win the championship.
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