“It’s sporting prestige, not money” McLaren on third-place finish in F1 2020 championship after vying long against Racing Point.
McLaren in Abu Dhabi gave a solid performance which denied their competitors Racing Point a 3rd point finish in the Championship this season, after a close series of battle across the year.
Ending up high in the championship is definitely rewarding financially, but McLaren boss Zak Brown feels that it is more about prestige than money.
“It’s sporting prestige,” Brown told Motorsport.com. “The money’s obviously nice. But when you’re on the pit wall, you’re thinking about it purely from the sporting standpoint. And then you get to the office on Monday, and you think about the financial side.”
“The team’s done an unbelievable job to do everything we’ve been through this year, bringing on a new investor at the weekend, and then clinching third in the championship when we had a very good car, but clearly last year’s Mercedes is faster!”
Couldn’t have asked for more says McLaren
While Mercedes and Red Bull were untouchable, the midfield battle was the real show this season for F1, with remaining last three races, four teams were actually vying for the 3rd spot.
“Couldn’t have written it better. But it’s so tight. We could have been fifth this weekend and have a totally different conversation.” he said further.
McLaren acing the spot is indeed a positive sign, but Brown concedes the fact that progress from here will be tough, as on one side Mercedes and Red Bull are too strong for 2021 at least, Ferrari would also be looking for a comeback.
“I think it will be harder,” he said. “I think we got to keep our feet on the ground. You’ve got to expect Ferrari to come back strong next year. We know they’re gonna have two very strong drivers, in Carlos [Sainz] and Charles [Leclerc].
“I think you got to assume they’re gonna be right back where we expected them to be this year. So I think it’s gonna get real tough from here on out.
“We’ve got everything we need now, especially with our new investors. Andreas [Seidl] has done an outstanding job. I think we’re just getting started, but it’s gonna get harder.”
