Racing Point facing different "peril" now - Szafnauer
The Racing Point Formula 1 team must be wary of the "perils" of its improved backing or risk losing what made it so potent as Force India, says Otmar Szafnauer.

Racing Point was granted an F1 entry from last year's Belgian Grand Prix as the Lawrence Stroll consortium-led reincarnation of Force India, which had fallen into administration.
While the team's financial problems left it one full upgrade package behind schedule, backing from the owners did become reality in time to help its 2018 campaign and prepare for 2019.
Team principal Szafnauer told Motorsport.com that the team would need to be "consciously aware of the perils" that come with stronger financial power, after it carved out a reputation as F1's best bang-for-its-buck team as Force India.
"One thing we do well is that we're an efficient team, efficiency, just means for the input that we have, we get greater output," he said. "It's that simple.
"Now the inputs are greater, and the output may not be proportionally greater, that's a risk.
"So I always tell people, even though we're going to have the financial resources, we can't lose our efficiency, that efficiency has to stay the same.
"If that efficiency stays the same, and the inputs are higher, then the output will be tremendously higher.
"We have to make sure we don't lose that efficiency, and it's easy to do when you don't have loads of money.
"I've been at places where every development was pursued, and that's wrong too, because if you pursue every development with limited human resources, not financial resources, sometimes you go down wrong paths."
Szafnauer explained that Force India could "never afford to go down all these other paths" as its technical team, led by Andrew Green, designed and produced cars that earned it fourth place in the constructors' championship in 2016 and 2017.
That led to decisions being made based on a certainty of the what the team "thought was our best opportunity".
"We have to make sure we don't start going all over the place," Szafnauer stressed.
"It's not going to be an easy thing. But if you're consciously aware of the perils, then you can always bring things back and make sure we maintain them."
The team's backing is expected to have more of an impact beyond 2019, given design for this year's car started before the new identity and ownership became a reality and a recruitment drive will take place to bolster its human resources.
However, Szafnauer said it will already start in a stronger place after beginning the 2018 season having to repeatedly delay upgrades.
"We couldn't realise performance upgrades even though we did the learning," he said.
"That will now happen. Come Australia, we will have our race car as we designed and developed it, not racing the launch car.
"That in itself will help us without even having to explore other avenues."

Previous article
Has McLaren chosen the right junior for F1 promotion?
Next article
McLaren made "big change" to development approach

About this article
Series | Formula 1 |
Teams | Racing Point Force India |
Author | Scott Mitchell |
Racing Point facing different "peril" now - Szafnauer
Trending
Back to Work | Valtteri Bottas' 2021 Seat Fit
F1 Explained | Mercedes Power Unit
How McLaren F1’s new investors have already made an impact
The deal McLaren concluded with MSP Sports Capital last year which will help the cash-strapped Formula 1 team pay for much-needed infrastructure upgrades, also points toward the future for F1 itself, says GP Racing's Stuart Codling.
Why Verstappen isn't interested in the hype game
In a pre-season where Red Bull has been unusually quiet, Max Verstappen has also been guarded about the team's fortunes in 2021. Even after trying the RB16B for the first time at Silverstone, the Dutchman was careful to manage expectations
The pros and cons of F1's 2021 rule changes
In the strategy for grand prix racing's future, 2021 represents a significant step towards the goal of closer racing and a more level playing field. That's the theory behind the latest raft of changes, but will they have the desired effect?
What Red Bull is trying to hide with its RB16B launch
Red Bull made no secret of the fact its 2021 F1 car is an evolution of its predecessor, but in keeping the same foundations while hiding some tightly-guarded updates with its RB16B, the team aims to avoid suffering the same pitfalls of previous years
How Albon plans to fight his way out of Red Bull limbo
Alex Albon has faced the media for the first time since he lost his Red Bull drive at the end of 2020 and dropped out of a Formula 1 race seat altogether. He has a history of bouncing back from setbacks, so here's what he must do to rise again
Ranked! Carlin's greatest F1 graduates
Carlin has helped guide enough drivers to Formula 1 to fill out an entire grid, plus a handful of reserves, to create a remarkable alumni list. With Yuki Tsunoda set to join that group, Motorsport.com has ranked its graduates to grace the grand prix scene...
Why Alfa's 2021 launch says more about its 2022 plans
Alfa Romeo launched its C41 with a revised front nose, but there's little to suggest it will surge up the leaderboard in 2021. As the team frankly admits, it's putting its eggs in the basket labelled 2022 and hoping to hold the eighth place it earned last year
Why Gasly’s AlphaTauri haven is a blessing and a curse
Red Bull opted not to re-sign Pierre Gasly even before it decided to drop Alex Albon and so the Frenchman's Formula 1 journey will continue at AlphaTauri. This has positive and negative connotations for one of last season's star performers.