Andreas Seidl aims to take McLaren back to their Formula 1 title-winning ways and if his short tenure in charge of Woking’s finest is anything to go by, he would be a fair bet to achieve that dream but warns the journey will not be easy for his team.
The resurrection of McLaren’s fortunes under Zak Brown can be attributed to the appointment of Seidl to run the F1 team which went astray over the past decade, with the end of the Ron Dennis era particularly painful for the once mightiest F1 team.
Their darkest period with the second-coming of Honda and a highly-demanding Fernando Alonso sank the team to its nadir before Brown realised a revolution was needed to save the sinking ship and lured Seidl to England to plug the hole.
Indeed, the 45-year-old German appears to have the Midas touch for motorsport as his CV testifies how he spearheaded BMW’s ultra-successful return to DTM in 2012 before his stint with the mighty Porsche LMP1 team which gobbled up titles and Le Mans 24-Hour victories. Now the rapid McLaren turnaround.
Speaking to F1-Insider, Seidl outlined his vision for McLaren under his charge: “It is important for us to take the next step this year – as a team, with the performance of the car and how we work together. It would be great for us if we can claim third place.
“Nevertheless, realistically, due to the engine situation, we were somewhat limited in development because we switched to the Mercedes PU. We have strong competition with Alpha Tauri, Ferrari and other teams but I can see we’ve definitely taken another step.”
This year McLaren were innovators again, their car sporting some special bits which have impressed rivals and pundits alike; Seidl revealed how this came about: “We have highly talented and motivated engineers in the team and it’s always good when they come with solutions that differ from the mainstream.
“How great the advantage this will have remains to be seen. We will also see whether one or the other team copies our solution. In any case, it works for our car. I was very happy with our performance from the start.”
Whatever McLaren throw at their car, the reality is that competing with their engine supplier Mercedes is a tall order this season. But F1 ushers in a new era in 2022 where the playing field is expected to be far less lopsided.
This is where Seidl sees the opportunities but tempers expectations with a dose of reality: “We want to be part of the generation that is fighting for victories and the world championship with McLaren again.
“But we have to be realistic. We still have a few serious deficits compared to the two big teams – on the infrastructure side, for example. We still lack the wind tunnel in Woking which we want to have operational soon. Two years ago we set up a clear plan and we are working on these deficits.
“I also believe that the rule changes next year, combined with the budget cap this year, will help us. With the Mercedes engine and our drivers, we are also in a great position.”
Team ethos is a big factor in Seidl’s management style, three victories at the Le Mans 24 Hours with Porsche are testament to his motivational and team-building skills which are serving him so well at McLaren.
Seidl revealed: “I was a footballer, and that’s when I discovered my love for team sports. The most important thing for me is that everyone in the team recognizes that motorsport is a team effort.”
Ironically, while the talk is of teamwork the reality of F1 is that the goal is to provide the fastest car possible for two blokes to drive as quickly as they can on work-day Sundays. And thereafter the goal of the ‘teammates’ is to beat one another! In other words, unlike any other team sport.
Nevertheless, Seidl is convinced that with veteran Daniel Ricciardo and ever-impressive young gun Lando Norris in the cars – with no number one or number two – the team are well served: “I hope that it will be a tough competition between the two because then they will perform well.
“It has worked very well in recent years and will continue to work well. With Daniel, we now have a driver on board who has already shown that he can win races. I am absolutely convinced that we will have a top driver pairing again this year.”
Third place is a realistic target for McLaren this season but they will be mindful of the challenges that will come from a very tight midfield coupled to focus on the 2022 project.
“For me, it is important that we take the positive momentum of the last few years with us, so we want to bring a few updates to the car but at some point, we’ll have to switch to next year’s car,” explained Seidl.
As for Brown, full credit to him for the Seidl hire and with it putting an end to that dark spell with Alonso that looked set to sink the entire ship. The American knows he has a diamond in the man he plucked from Porsche.
“I don’t know how to run an F1 team, it’s not my competency,” admitted Brown in a recent interview. “That’s what Andreas is awesome at. So my job is to give him the freedom, the support, and the financial resources to allow him to do his thing. So Andreas has full authority to run the F1 team as he sees fit.
“My job as CEO of McLaren Racing is to field the most competitive, financially sustainable racing team, not only in F1 but anything else that we may venture into like IndyCar etc.
“I think my job is to get the best people in the business, and I think we’ve done that. I think Andreas is the best team principal in the pitlane, in my humble opinion,” declared Brown.