Andreas Seidl does not want to be “too confident” for McLaren
Satisfied with McLaren's start of the season, Andreas Seidl doesn't want to get too confident in a midfield battle that he knows is very tight. With Norris' first podium of the season in Imola, Seidl acknowledges the work done by his team to return to the top of the standings after the initial setback in Bahrain.
After a nightmarish first race in Bahrain, which feared the worst for the rest of the season, McLaren has made a comeback in the midfield battle. With Norris finishing in seventh place in Jeddah, the team scored its first points before carrying on with a very good weekend in Melbourne. Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo secured fifth and sixth places in the Grand Prix, demonstrating that McLaren is the fourth force on the grid.
The Woking team did even better at Imola where Lando Norris secured his first podium of the season, his sixth in Formula 1, a testament to McLaren gradually reclaiming the position it held in recent years. The overall outcome is currently satisfactory for Andreas Seidl, the team director.
« I think that based on what we have seen so far in Melbourne and Imola, the car performs in all kinds of conditions and also on different tracks, which is very positive. » Seidl is satisfied with it. « But, at the same time, if you look at the pack, it’s very close between Mercedes, us, Valtteri [Bottas], and Kevin [Magnussen]. » the German warns.
Andreas Seidl doesn’t want to celebrate prematurely and knows how yesterday’s truth isn’t the same as tomorrow’s. I’m never too confident because I know how the paddock works, teams don’t stand still, but I’m convinced that we have a car and a package that are capable of fighting for Q3 and for big points every weekend, and that goes hand in hand with a strong team and two strong drivers, Seidl is pleased.
McLaren is currently fourth in the constructors’ standings with 46 points, already 31 points behind Mercedes. The Woking team, like the eight-time world champions, have benefitted greatly from the mistakes and misfortunes of Red Bull and Ferrari drivers. At Imola, Norris can thank Charles Leclerc’s mistake and Carlos Sainz’s retirement caused by Ricciardo, which allowed him to secure third place on the podium.
Andreas Seidl seems aware of the speed at which Formula 1 can evolve, especially in this year of regulatory revolution where development will be at the heart of the fight for the championship, and the German doesn’t want to get too ahead of himself. However, McLaren is coming back from a difficult start after a catastrophic first Grand Prix in Bahrain.
Qualified 13th and 18th, Norris and Ricciardo spent the entire Grand Prix in the back positions to ultimately finish 14th and 15th (out of 17 drivers who completed the race). A result more than disappointing for the Woking team, which had achieved a third place (2020) and two fourth places (2019, 2021) in the constructors’ championship in the past three years. But McLaren quickly turned things around, to the great satisfaction of Andreas Seidl.
“It was great to see how the team bounced back after Bahrain, and how everyone remained calm and united, and simply kept their heads down and continued working together. I am therefore very satisfied with that, and very happy to know that we have a plan in place to improve the car’s performance in the coming weeks and months,” says the McLaren manager, savoring the moment.
