McLaren: trend reversal or flash in the pan?
McLaren made a comeback in the top 10 at the Australian GP. Team boss Andreas Seidl explains why the MCL36 is suddenly good for points.
Breathe easy at McLaren. At the Australian GP, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished right behind the podium. After the swatter at the start of the season, where you fought for the Golden Pineapple with Aston Martin and Williams, this is a strong comeback for the traditional team.
Lando Norris fears that McLaren’s good form was due to the street circuit in Albert Park. “There were a few things that we did well, for example a slightly different direction with the set-up,” he admits, but admits: “At the same time it was probably mainly because of the track.” With “70:30 or rather 80:20” is how the Brit puts the impact of the super-fast track in the St. Kilda district.
His teammate Daniel Ricciardo doesn’t believe in a miracle either. “It’s not like we did anything crazy,” he says. After all: “We build trust in the car and can bring it closer to the limit. That helps too.”
So much for the cockpit perspective. From the command post, team boss Andreas Seidl identifies the surprisingly rapid upswing at three points.
“We had a few small upgrades on the car that worked and improved the performance,” explains the German. “The fluid layout of our package also helped. And we implemented the empirical values from the first races here well and were able to increase our competitiveness.”
Also means: At McLaren they understood the MCL36 better. Seidl: “The cars are still new and I think everything put us back in a position where we made a step forward. We were faster in the race than the Alpine, the Alfa Romeo and the Haas, which we lagged behind in the previous races.”
But the Bavarian isn’t fooling himself either: the slow corners where his orange racer has some catching up to do didn’t exist in Melbourne. He admits: “You can see that we lack grip. That’s where we’re weakest compared to the top teams.”
But there are more positive things to report. In Saudi Arabia, the squad from Woking shone with the best pit stops. Seidl: “This shows that we have finally taken the steps we wanted in this area. I am very happy with it.”
Now is the time to keep calm. “We now have a clear plan of what we have to do with the car,” says Seidl. “But despite all our ambitions, we have to remain patient. Our package is currently good enough to fight for places in the top ten. That’s better than at the start of the season, but obviously not where we want to be. We still need a second to go up.”
The McLaren team boss steps on the euphoria brakes. So that the trend reversal is not just a flash in the pan after all.
Formula 1 on TV
In 2022, Formula 1 will run on Sky. Last year, the broadcaster introduced a new TV channel especially for the premier class: Sky Formula 1. Here there is motorsport 24 hours a day. All practice sessions, all qualifying sessions, all races are always live and without commercial breaks. In addition, Sky also broadcasts the support races Formula 2, Formula 3 and the Porsche Supercup. Historical races and special programs are also on the programme.
