How McLaren won Formula 1’s ‘Class B’ battle
Off the back of its recovery to fourth place in the constructors’ championship in 2019, McLaren entered this season braced for a tougher challenge to head Formula 1’s midfield. The emergence of Racing Point’s ‘pink Mercedes’ in Barcelona and a strong showing from Renault throughout testing left some McLaren team members fearing it could drop as low as sixth or seventh in the standings.
Yet what followed was the best season in McLaren’s recent history. Rarely did the team have the third-fastest car (on raw pace it was fifth, just behind Ferrari), yet it was able to beat its faster rivals to snare third in the standings, its best finish since 2012.
It was further validation for the recovery plan that has been formulating ever since McLaren’s divorce with Honda after the 2017 season, and proved the strength of a balanced driver line-up in Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr, who eagerly capitalised on opportunities that presented themselves.
Combined with off-track movements, 2020 could end up being one of the most significant years in McLaren’s history.
Following the cancellation of the season opener in Australia and the surge in the COVID-19 pandemic, thoughts of a bid for third position seemed a long way off for McLaren, as its attention turned to self-preservation. The team was one of the first to furlough staff, with the wider McLaren Group announcing a plan to lay off 1200 of its employees,
