Next three races will decide McLaren's future: Jonathan Neale

McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale has said that the next three races will determine what the team’s ambition will be for the rest of the year.

After a slow start which has seen them clock 37 points in the constructors’ championship, McLaren is trying their best to catch up to championship leaders Red Bull, who are ahead of them by 164 points.

Three more European races are scheduled after the enforced mid-season break and Neale has admitted that they are likely to focus more directly on the next season, unless and until they witness a considerable improvement in time for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

“To some extent I think you’re right, however there are some programs on the car that we will want to run through much later in to the season which is important as a fundamental for next year as well,” Neale said. “We are pushing hard but the reality of the situation is that there’s still a big gap from us to the front of the grid.”

Neale also elaborated on the various influencing factors that would determine when McLaren needs to switch focus, and stressed on the fact that there are still areas of the 2013 car which require improvement.

“I think if you looked in to any of the Formula One teams when you’re coming up against a step change in the regulations as we are in 2014, then I’m pretty sure that all of the teams will have been running some kind of car concept research work in the last quarter of last year, maybe some even sooner than that. So we have been contemplating what we’re going to do from a car concept point of view throughout the winter and we’re still doing it,” he summed up.

Source: ESPN F1