General
Szafnauer about Mercedes: "Logical that we buy those parts"
- GPblog.com
Racing Point is performing strongly this year although they were whistled back because they used elements of the 2019 Mercedes car. Otmar Szafnauer is satisfied with the season but there is still some stretch in it.
Red Bull even stronger
Racing Point's car often competes in the top five, something that was unthinkable last year. Lance Stroll's podium in a crazy race isn't even a confirmation of that. They've come close many times and were way ahead after qualifying. The pink car has to be taken into account.
According to Szafnauer, they are still discovering the car, so there is still some stretch in it: "We now know the car for 70 to 80 percent. We were stronger than Red Bull at Monza, but we are still lagging behind in many areas", Thus the team boss against Auto, Motor Und Sport.
Cultural change?
There was a lot to do this year about copying parts. Force India, the forerunner to Racing Point, has even spoken out about B teams in the past in the Formula 1 field. The team has made a change in that:
"I don't think we have changed our minds. Since the Force India days we have increased our team by 20 percent, most of them in the development and design department. The difference with the past is that today we can buy more Mercedes parts than before because we have more money. I mean the parts that we are allowed to buy according to the regulations".
The team boss continues: "These parts require a huge amount of development and production effort if you make them yourself. They are parts with a long production time. So it makes sense that today we buy all these parts and focus on developing the things that make our car faster," Szafnauer concludes.