Newey Set to Skip Remaining Races

McLaren technical director Adrian Newey is expected to miss most of the remaining races of the 2002 season as he stays back at the team's Woking factory in a bid to strengthen a push to challenge Ferrari next season.

Briton Newey missed last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, which followed the sport's three-week break, to concentrate on the team's 2003 car as it reaches a crucial stage of development.

His main concentration now is to help oversee the team back at base, and team boss Ron Dennis said: "Adrian has not been at the last two to three Grands Prix and he is unlikely to be at more than one or two of the remaining four."

The team have gone through significant design room changes with the arrival of former Arrows technical director Mike Coughlan as chief designer, and Newey's organisational skills will be crucial to ensure the new team gels rapidly.

"We've worked very hard to restructure and supplement the whole technical group of the company," said Dennis. "We are, along with our colleagues at Mercedes-Benz, really trying to raise our game.

"Mercedes-Benz and McLaren are very equal in their contribution to winning races and I am very confident in the abilities of both these companies to produce a car that is capable of winning races and world championships in the future."