McLaren taking 'different approach' in F1 2019 preparations

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown says the team is taking a different approach into the 2019 Formula 1 season to avoid a repeat of the issues it faced last year. 

McLaren has appointed ex-Porsche LMP1 boss Andreas Seidl as its new managing director to bolster its ongoing recovery effort in the upcoming campaign following its sixth-place finish in the 2018 constructors’ championship, a season which was hampered by a poor car despite a switch from Honda to Renault power units.

The Woking outfit will also field a completely revised driver line-up consisting of Carlos Sainz and Formula 2 runner-up Lando Norris after the departures of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne. 

"We are doing things differently to be more prepared,” Brown said. "Not just with performance, but we had a lot of reliability issues going into Barcelona testing last year.

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“So we have taken some measures to get ahead of that. We will continue to develop as all F1 teams do, on a weekly basis. 

“We'll bring to Australia our most developed performance that we've been doing here since we started developing the car.”

Brown says the plethora of issues that marred its pre-season preparations a year ago delayed the team’s focus on performance and ultimately contributed towards its poor season, emphasised by a disappointing car design. 

“One of the reasons why we were slower to bring performance is because we had reliability issues,” he explained.

“You roll off the truck in Barcelona, instead of being able to get straight down to performance, you're having issues, wheel nut issues, heating issues, you then stop focusing on performance and you start focusing on reliability.” 

While Brown has been keen to avoid making any rash predictions, he is confident that McLaren heads into the new season in a “better place performance and reliability-wise” compared to previous years.

“I think we’re taking those learnings and we’ll ultimately in the long-term be a better team because of it,” he added. 

“I think sometimes in life, in business and in racing, a little bit of difficulty, as long as you attack those challenges and you learn from those challenges, which I think we’ve done, you then come out the other side in a better place. 

“It’s kind of easy when it’s easy, and when it’s difficult, that’s when you really have got to show your true grit. 

“I’m happy it [2018] is behind us. I think you always put your last race behind you, so we’re totally looking forward and very excited.

“I kind of wish Barcelona testing was tomorrow and Australia was next week, because we’re all eager to get back to the race track."