Audi racing director Allan McNish: This is the championship situation in Formula 1’s midfield

Formula 1 is entering the final stages of the season. According to the official calendar, there are still six Grands Prix to go. The focus is now on the final points, which will ultimately determine the positions in the World Championship standings.

Following the Singapore race, Audi’s racing director Allan McNish gave his assessment of what upgrades are still to come in the midfield of Formula 1 during the final stages of the season. The Scot said: “We’ve still got a few minor details, but no major changes. Our major upgrade was the one in Baku, which we’ve been using ever since, and that’s the most important thing. It’s more about the finer details now, I’d say.”

These upgrades are still to come from Audi & Co

And the competition? McNish: “What I know is that Racing Bulls are still set to bring something to the grid. They’ve got something up their sleeve. Alpine too. So those are two major advances from them, as both – particularly Alpine – have only recently introduced something. I suppose that’s what defines competitiveness in the midfield.” As is so often said: this is, above all, a development championship in this first year of the new regulations.

Who’s leading the pack in the F1 midfield?

McNish: “Haas were in the mix earlier on, but in my opinion, we, Alpine and Racing Bulls are constantly battling for those top-10 finishes and points behind Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull. It simply depends on who gets everything right on the day.”

When asked about the upgrade in Baku, which didn’t seem to make an immediate impact, McNish joked: “There weren’t really any question marks about it. There were question marks from you lot, but not from us.” Meaning the journalists. McNish: “In Baku, the situation was pretty clear to us because we’d done the runs. We had a clear picture then. We put it through its paces with both cars and understood what we had. We did another run in the first free practice session, as higher speeds are reached in Kuala Lumpur – something you don’t have in Baku. So we covered the entire spectrum and had clarity in that regard.”

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In Singapore, Nico Hülkenberg scored points in both the Sprint and the Grand Prix. A first! McNish: “In terms of confidence, that was important, because I can’t say it wouldn’t have been disappointing to finish 11th in two consecutive races.”