McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl is wary of being too confident despite Lando Norris’ podium at Imola, claiming the competition is strong and not standing still.
McLaren had a terrible start for their 2022 Formula 1 season in Bahrain, but have since made progress, that was culminated with their podium and the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, courtesy of Lando Norris’ excellent third place behind the Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
Seidl is happy the team’s MCL36 is working well around different track configurations, but remains cautious as the likes of Alfa Romeo and Haas have been a revelation so far this season, while Mercedes’ fall from grace into the midfield has made that group of teams even more competitive and close.
“I think from what we have seen now from Melbourne and Imola, the car is working under all kinds of conditions and also different track layouts, which is very positive,” Seidl said.
“But, at the same time, if you look at the field where it is very close between the Mercedes, us, Valtteri [Bottas], and Kevin [Magnussen], there’s no comfort in what we are seeing now in the last few weekends,” he added.
“I’m never too confident because I know that the machinery in this paddock with all teams is not standing still, but I am confident that we have a car and a package which is able at each weekend at the moment to fight for Q3 and fight for good points.
“And that goes together with a strong team and two strong drivers,” the German pointed out.
McLaren pulled together after difficult start of 2022
The McLaren boss complimented the job his team has been doing recently, as they rose up to the challenge following their difficult start to the season.
“It’s not just about lap time performance,” he claimed. “It’s also about putting the weekends together and I give really big compliments to the team about how everyone pulled it off in Imola despite some challenges like not getting many laps done in P2.”
“It was great to see for me how the team was dealing with the challenge of the Bahrain race weekend, and how everyone stayed calm and united and simply kept their head down and kept working together as one team through it,” Seidl revealed.
“That was very pleasing to see because that was the first real test of everything we had put in place over the last three years, where the sun was always shining.
“So I am very pleased with that, and very pleased as well to know that we have a plan in place of where we want to bring more performance to the car in the next weeks and months,” the 46-year-old concluded.