McLaren and Ferrari are clearly leading the midfield battle so far this season. With just 5 points separating them, the battle for 3rd looks set to culminate in Abu Dhabi.

Despite this scenario, Ferrari will be shuffling their priorities. According to Ferrari’s Formula One Sporting Director, Laurent Mekies, their focus will now be the 2022 season and the regulations that will be in effect for future seasons.

Although they have their priorities set, the Frenchman pointed out that this season won’t be ignored completely.

Ferrari working more towards 2022 than 2021

The Italian outfit has declared that they will look to the future beyond 2021. With new technical regulations coming into effect, Ferrari believe that focusing on 2022 will be more beneficial in the long run.

Ferrari’s Laurent Mekies said, “We are pretty much already in full switch, it’s already the case for us. The fact that the field is tight that you may need a few hundredths or a few tenths to switch from sixth to third will not change our strategy, the focus is on next year.”

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Mekies: Direction shouldn’t frustrate the race team

Despite the Frenchman marking out Ferrari’s ambitions, it would seem like Ferrari will focus on McLaren for now. However, Mekies believes that their current performance will be helpful for them in their preparations for next year.

Mekies said, “I think it comes with some good news with the race team, because your progress as a race team is always somehow blurred by the amount of development that you bring relative to the completion.

“The focus is on next year, even if the field is tight. For us it is a clear decision.”

With 19 races left this season, Ferrari will look to score as many points as they can this season. 2021 looks to be nothing more than a long test for the Maranello-based team, with their ambitions set for 2022. Should the Tifosi change their expectations for this season?