Mat Coch writes:

McLaren has vowed to continue developing its 2011 MP4-26 with half an eye on next season.

With Red Bull currently leading the Constructors' Championship by more than 130 points the Woking outfit remains adamant it will resist the temptation to focus efforts entirely on the 2012 car, but will develop areas where benefits can carry over to next year.

"There's always a balance to be found between the two cars," said Phil Prew, McLaren's principal race engineer in the recent Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Phone-In. Development on the current car is set to continue, however, the focus now shifting towards producing components which can be carried over to the 2012 car. "As we approach the tail end of the season then the emphasis will obviously move towards the MP4-27," he continued, "but there's still much to learn with the MP4-26 with the development on that car that will translate."

Technical regulations are set to remain largely unchanged for next season, allowing teams to develop components now which will boost performance in 2012. "Front wings, rear wings for example, they're all directly transferable," says Prew.

"The development plans that we have at the moment are looking at components which will give lap time benefit both for this year and also carry over to next year," he continued. "So we can combine the two and hopefully find benefit for both seasons."