2019 Review – Racing Point: A Rollercoaster Season and a Performance Gap with the Midfield
The end of the year is approaching, and it's time to analyze the teams' performances in 2019. Motors Inside offers you a look back at the Racing Point team's season. Despite a turbulent end to the 2018 season, which saw the end of the Force India era and the team being saved by Lawrence Stroll, they managed to secure a 7th place in the constructors' championship. This result is quite satisfactory, considering the off-track challenges the team faced and the progress made by the Renault and McLaren cars this season. The team owes this result mainly to their reliable driver, Sergio Perez.
The start of the season was very promising, with the team managing to finish in the top 10 during the first four races of the championship. This suggested a competition with the midfield teams for the 4th strongest position in the lineup. The Azerbaijan GP saw a double finish in the points and a 6th place, meaning “Best of the rest,” achieved by Sergio Perez.
From the start of the European tour, the team’s results plummeted, and the difference in terms of the car’s pure performance became noticeable. The car was not competitive during the qualifications, which made the race more challenging for the drivers, as stated by the Mexican driver at the end of the season.
Lance Stroll’s performance in qualifying clearly illustrates this lack of competitiveness, as the Canadian exited qualifying in the first session in 14 GPs this season. At Le Castellet, the Racing Point cars qualified in 18th and 14th positions, finishing the race in 13th and 12th place. Some reliability issues with the Mercedes engine, although with a low occurrence, also complicated the team’s task.
At the end of the season, the team nevertheless delivered some good performances, like the spectacular German Grand Prix where Stroll managed to finish in 4th place, an unprecedented result under the deluge of Hockenheim, and Perez’s 7th place at the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
The visibility offered by the team’s takeover, Perez’s extension until 2020, and the new factory project in 2021 allow for a better 2020 season outlook. However, the competition with Renault and McLaren will be tough, and the 4th place in the championship remains a distant dream.
