After a lackluster start to the 2022 campaign in Bahrain, where McLaren failed to score any points, the Woking-based team has progressed such that Lando Norris was able to claim his first podium finish of the season at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
But with Haas, Alfa Romeo and Alpine all showing glimpses of great potential so far this season, McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl remains cautious about believing his squad is poised to emerge as leaders of the rest after Red Bull and Ferrari.
“I think from what we’ve seen now in Melbourne and Imola, the car works in all kinds of conditions and also on different tracks, which is very positive,” explained Seidl.
“But at the same time, if you look at the grid, where everything is very close between the Mercedes, us, Valtteri [Bottas], and Kevin [Magnussen], what we are seeing in the last couple of weekends is no consolation.
Although realistic about McLaren’s situation, Seidl believes the team can aim for a consistent performance in Q3 and a good number of points each weekend.
“I never get too confident because I know the machinery of the teams in this paddock is not standing still, but I do feel confident that we have a car and a package that is capable, at the moment, of fighting for Q3 and for a good amount of points every weekend,” he explained.
“And that goes hand in hand with a strong team and two strong drivers.”
“It’s not just about the lap times, it’s also about organizing the weekends, and I congratulate the team on the way everyone did in Imola, despite some problems, such as the lack of laps in the FP2”.
Despite not being swayed by how much things have improved, Seidl is very encouraged by the way the team has set to work to return to competition, after the problems they suffered at the start of the season.
“It was great to see how the team met the challenge of the Bahrain weekend, and how everyone stayed calm, united and just kept their heads down, and everyone continued to work together as one team,” he said.
“That was really nice to see, because it was the first real test of everything we’ve put in place in the last three years, when the sun was always shining.”
“So I’m very pleased with that, and very pleased also to know that we have a plan in place as to where we want to add more performance to the car in the coming weeks and months.”
