“The victory was damn important”– Andreas Seidl feels the victory in Monza was massively crucial for Daniel Ricciardo after his initial setbacks.
Daniel Ricciardo had a tough start with McLaren this year, but a victory in Monza may be the first sign of his changing fortune in the Woking-based team.
McLaren boss Andreas Seidl feels that the recent victory in Italy was massively crucial for the Australian International, considering he had a tough start in the team.
The moment @DanielRicciardo added his own piece of McLaren history to the MTC trophy cabinet. 🏆🥰
And he picked a spot alongside a very special trophy. 👏🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/Umk6gu1I8H
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) September 16, 2021
“For him, the victory was damn important after the difficult acclimatisation [to McLaren],” Seidl told F1-Insider. “He has shown in the past that he is one of the best. That’s why we wanted him.
“I hope that he will return to his old strength. We need two strong drivers to make the leap to the top successfully. Red Bull and Mercedes can always race for victory, we can’t yet.”
“Even if there will still be chances this season, we have a realistic picture. We know that the others are still ahead of us. The fight for third place against Ferrari will be tough.”
The party was on me
Seidl also revealed that the celebrations were left under his charge after Ricciardo soon called it a night for himself. For Seidl, the celebration was important, as it was after ages, Mclaren won its first race.
“It’s been a while since we celebrated a win,” he added. “That’s why it was important to me too. We live for these emotions. It was great to see what energy was released [by the team].”
“The weekend in Monza was intense and Daniel went straight to bed so I took over the party with the guys at the bar. We then made up for the celebrations in Woking [at the team factory].”
The win now keeps Ricciardo at P8 in the drivers’ standings with 88 points, while Lando Norris is flying high at P4 with 132 points.
