Racing Point should be back to competing at its previous best level in the 2020 F1 season, according to CEO Otmar Szafnauer.
The team has endured major disruptions during the past two championships. It went into administration in the middle of 2018, putting its future in doubt. Its assets were bought by a consortium headed by billionaire Lawrence Stroll, who has invested in the team, but the episode delayed development work on its 2019 chassis.However Racing Point made steady progress throughout last year. Szafnauer said the team “kept pace and out-developed” their rivals “a little bit, but not by enough” during 2019.
“At the beginning of the year we weren’t getting into Q3 at all,” he said. “[Later] almost every race we got a chance to make Q3. Sometimes we got it, sometimes we didn’t, we were right around there, and at the beginning we struggled to get out of Q1 if you remember those races.
“So we did out-develop some of the people in the midfield. But you can’t double their development rate because if you were to do that then within three years you’d be well past them. So it’s a tough thing once you start.”
Szafnauer believes they should begin the new season in better shape.
“Now the winter months give you a big opportunity to out-develop. Things change over the winter months, especially if there’s a regulation change, which we had last year – over the winter we had a regulation change with no ability to develop, which is what got us to where we did at the start of the season. That’s not the case this year.”
The team has hired new staff, brought workers from different sites together so they can work more efficiently and upgraded its systems. Szafnauer expects they will be a stronger force in the midfield this year.
“There are no excuses if we’re not performing to the level that we’ve been used to performing,” he said. “We should be the sharp end of the midfield.”
The team finished fourth in the championship in 2016 and 2017, as Force India, before it was hit by financial problems related to previous owner Vijay Mallya.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2020 F1 season
- Pictures: Wrecked chassis from Grosjean’s Bahrain fireball crash to go on display
- Bottas vs Rosberg: Hamilton’s Mercedes team mates compared after 78 races each
- F1 revenues fell by $877 million in Covid-struck 2020 season
- Hamilton and Mercedes finally announce new deal for 2021 season
- F1 audience figures “strong” in 2020 despite dip in television viewers
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
13th January 2020, 8:30
The car may be back to its best but that might only expose more the depth of Racing Points driver weakness.
At what point will the team ownership admit that should it turn out to be the case.
Robbie (@robbie)
13th January 2020, 20:17
@dbradock Interesting way of looking at it. Usually a driver is coloured by his car. Usually if the car improves, so does the drivers’ performance, since as we know the car is a huge percentage of the winning formula. Most consider the car is anywhere from 80% to 95% of the game.
So while I do take your point, and I’m sure it is directed towards Stroll, that his Dad may have to at some point admit he needs a better driver in the seat, and will have to let his son go, let’s see what happens this year.
I know I have little evidence to go by given Lance’s performances, and for sure that includes his performances vs his teammates, which is an apples to apples comparison even when the car is a dog, but I still have patience for the lad. I still believe that Lance has had very little to work with in his tenure so far in F1. A couple of years in terrible Williams cars, and then a year in an underdeveloped Racing Point is what Lance has had with which to show his stuff.
Hey I’m sure there is a very good chance that he won’t light the F1 world on fire, but I for one am still enthusiastic to see what he can do in a car that is finally, theoretically for now, at least somewhat respectable. Sure he is no rookie, he has some experience, but how much has he really been able to learn given he has mostly had one hand tied behind his back in F1? He has certainly learned what having a bad car feels like, so I just wonder if he might surprise some people if his car is up to snuff finally, again, given that drivers are coloured by their cars, and his have only been terrible, and hence so have his performances for the most part appeared.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
14th January 2020, 3:16
Fair point @Robbie and I do wish him well but I’d have expected him to have gotten far closer to Perez during the latter half of 2019.
If they do produce a seriously good car and Lance (or either driver) regularly fails to get out of Q1 against the other making it to Q3, the norm for a team would be to look at getting a better driver. I’m hoping that a reluctance to do so doesn’t hold them back against a team with possible a slightly slower car gaining more points regularly than they are because both of their drivers are getting the maximum out of it.
As you say though, having a better car may make a huge difference and its one of those points of interest I love to follow in F1.
bosyber (@bosyber)
14th January 2020, 7:37
Solid post @robbie, I too will be curious to see how much experience and a better car can help Perez to more of those podium-reaching sort of drives, and Stroll to rediscover his Monza 2017 qualifying high
Pironi the Provocateur (@pironitheprovocateur)
13th January 2020, 8:43
Leaving their unique aerodynamic concept for a conventional design used by every other team really says a lot about their last season.
RB13
13th January 2020, 13:09
It’s only a nose design. And with stable regs, designs converge naturally. Chill out.
SteveR
13th January 2020, 14:42
So what happened to VJ? Is he still in England?
NS Biker (@rekibsn)
13th January 2020, 19:35
Sounds like an opportunity for an F1 version of “Where’s Wally / Waldo.?”
Cristiano Ferreira
13th January 2020, 20:19
Sorry to break it to Szafnauer but they only achieved their 4th place in the standings in 2016 and 2017 because McLaren and Williams were rampered by problems, not because they belong there. Its sad, but true.
McLaren kinda of sorted their problems last year and Williams… well, there’s a long road ahead for them, but once they solve their problems (will they?) Force India / Racing Point will be relegated to 5th or worse.
If McLaren continues their upward trajectory, 4th will be locked down for good.
Oh, and once Renault get their act together (they need to get rid of Cyril for that), Racing point will be relegated even further below.
Robbie (@robbie)
13th January 2020, 20:38
But that’s racing, no? They should hand back their 4th place in 2016 and 2017 because they didn’t have as many problems as Mac and Williams? Isn’t that kinda how racing series’ work? In those years they indeed belonged there, and Mac and Williams belonged where they finished based on the job they did (didn’t) do.
You’ve thrown our a lot of if, ands, and buts here, but we’ll just have to see. RP is not the same entity as before, as they have been pumping up the team and it’s infrastructure and ways and means of doing things, so it is unfair to make it sound like they are just standing still and will sit on their hands while Williams, and Renault get their act together and surpass them. I wouldn’t be surprised if the investments keep coming from Lawrence Stroll and his group too…ie. they’ll likely be an even more potent competitor in 2021 as they add more staff and resources. Certainly sounds like Stroll wants to take the team to much much bigger places anyway, whereas Mac has had the advantage of having no shortage or resources for decades now. As Renault should already have too. Let’s see where Racing Point takes themselves, but they certainly aren’t standing still.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
14th January 2020, 3:11
I’d go even further than that @Robbie In 2016 & 2017 they had a combination of pretty good drivers and extremely good team management. Their team management and their ability to extract bang for buck against the odds, whether it be with strategy decisions, seamless pit stops or just plain hard work enabled their drivers to extract the very best out of their car at most race weekends.
Compare that against some of the disarray we’ve seen in many of the other midfield teams and it didn’t really appear to be any fluke that they did so well in those years.
I’m hoping that now they have funds that they don’t lose that team spirit that was so obvious in 2016/7 where they were the “little guy” punching seriously well above their weight.
Cristiano Ferreira
14th January 2020, 14:26
What i’m saying is that Szafnauer talks like Racing Point is the natural 4th force in the grid, while they aren’t.
Yeah, they earned 4th by merit, but its was more because circumstancial factors did play a role (like the ones i said) than anything else. Its the same that happened to Leicester in 2016. They won the Premier League but they don’t belong there. Circumstances played well for them.
It’s not that hard to understand is it?