McLaren F1 Team started off the 2022 season in a disappointing fashion as both Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris finished outside of the points after having a difficult weekend in the practice sessions and qualifying in Bahrain.
Coming into the race, there was a feeling from many that McLaren would struggle with the problems that they had been having with car in and the absence of Ricciardo due to Covid in testing. This showed in qualifying as both drivers were knocked out in Q1 and Q2 with Daniel Ricciardo starting the race in eightieth and Lando Norris in thirteenth.
Despite McLaren’s best efforts, both cars lacked the pace on race day which other teams around them had and this meant that both drivers finished outside of the points with Ricciardo finishing in fourteenth and Lando in fifteenth.
McLaren’s Team Principal Andreas Seidl gave his verdict on the weekend, talking about the challenges that the team have had to deal with over the past week and how analysing where they went wrong will put them in a better position for next week’s Jeddah Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia.
“As expected, after a difficult Friday and Saturday in Bahrain for us, today’s grand prix was a continuation of the issues we’re facing at present. We had to manage a lot of different parameters throughout the race, and that didn’t allow us to be competitive.
“Thanks to Lando and Daniel who battled hard all weekend together with the team here in Bahrain and back in Woking, who have put in an immense amount of work.”
“This was a disappointing and painful experience for everyone within the team, and of course for all our great fans. We are now analysing in detail why we’re not competitive and working as hard as we can to bring more performance to the car, as rapidly as possible.
“In the meantime, hopefully all the learnings from today’s race, the first time we’ve completed a full race distance with this car, will help us prepare and be in a better position for next weekend.”