Reaching The Gap to Mercedes for McLaren

Mercedes have become the dominating force behind Formula One throughout the last decade, with dominance first shown with the McLaren – Mercedes partnership. That would change after Mercedes AMG-Petronas entered F1 in 2014, prompting McLaren to locate a new engine manufacturer for the first time since 1995. Struggling aspirations have been seen for McLaren since being forced from the Mercedes partnership, with their manufacturer contract with Honda proving horrendous.

Similar results were witnessed for another season after McLaren became partners with Renault. 2019 established the first influential campaign for McLaren-Renault since Lewis Hamilton left several years earlier. 2020 would prove even more eventful, with McLaren-Renault acquiring third in the constructor’s championship.

Supporters for McLaren are excited about the prospects of the racing outfit returning to a Mercedes power-unit. It’d be announced earlier in 2020 that McLaren-Mercedes are reviving their partnership for the first time in several years. Most fanatics believe that engineers employed by McLaren & Lando Norris/Daniel Ricciardo will eliminate the gap between to Mercedes.

Rule Changes in 2022

Fanatics shouldn’t anticipate that McLaren-Mercedes Racing will obtain regular 1st place podium finishes against Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas. Team Principal Andreas Seidl believes it’ll take upwards of two seasons for McLaren engineers to close the noticeable gap Mercedes sustains. That isn’t horrible though, with Formula One implementing rule changes in 2022.

Those alterations are forcing all teams into lower budgets & fewer options for innovation. All teams sustaining power-units from Mercedes will have ample opportunity to acquire the championship. Lewis Hamilton himself hopes his old team will become a prominent rival of Mercedes & Red Bull, which is becoming an apparent reality for next season.

Realist approaches towards the 2021 Formula One Campaign is being sustained by Team Principal Andreas Seidl. Even with McLaren-Renault finishing third in the constructor’s championship this year, gaps between Lando Norris & Carlos Sainz to Lewis Hamilton & Valtteri Bottas are severe. That will be sustained similarly next season even with Daniel Ricciardo joining McLaren in 2021.