McLaren’s Andreas Seidl: Imola “confirms the potential of the MCL36”

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix ended with mixed results for the McLaren F1 Team, as Lando Norris took third-place with an impressive performance from start to finish and Daniel Ricciardo saw his opportunity for points slip away after a first-lap incident with Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren Team Principal Andreas Seidl, praised the efforts of both drivers for their performances on Sunday. 

“P3 for Lando today comes as the result of hard work and a well-managed strategy. He drove a great race today. After a good start, he worked very hard, looked after his tyres, managed the gap to the cars we were racing and put himself in the best position to take advantage of any opportunity that came his way.

“Unfortunately Daniel had a first lap collision with Carlos [Sainz] which damaged the car and his race was pretty much over, but he was able to provide useful information to the team to maximise our result.”

Seidl said that McLaren’s running in rainy Imola revealed MCL36’s capabilities further. Though optimistic about the team’s potential moving forward, he is aware of the work that still needs to be done to “close the gap”. 

“The performance we saw this weekend on a different track and in a variety of conditions confirms the potential of the MCL36 that we have been unlocking race by race. That said, we remain realistic about the work we have to do to close the gap to the front of the field. Also our pit-crew again delivered good pitstops.”

Each race has brought McLaren more points than the last so far this season– from zero points at the season opener to earning twenty-two points in Imola. Currently fourth in the constructors’ standings, the team will be looking to continue their positive trend as the season progresses. 

“My thanks today to the entire team, here at the track and back home at the factory, together with our colleagues at Mercedes HPP. It’s been an intense first Sprint weekend of the 2022 season. We head home now to reset, analyse what we have learnt here and prepare for our first visit to Miami.”