“We would be very, very satisfied with a podium” – McLaren F1 team principal Andreas Seidl has set a goal for Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris for the season-opening Bahrain GP.
The McLaren F1 team had a brilliant outing in the pre-season testing in Bahrain, looking as good as ever. One change the British team has made to its car is to bring in a new diffuser, which is helping them aerodynamically. This is catching the attention of teams, and speaking to RTL, Andreas Seidl hinted at these teams trying to copy it.
“It will be interesting to see how this will develop in the next few weeks. Whether teams are hoping for a leap if they try to recreate the solution. It’s great to see though and I’m happy for our aerodynamics team that they found this solution.”
McLaren F1 ready to take the battle to Red Bull and Mercedes?
The likes of McLaren, Aston Martin, Renault, AlphaTauri, and Ferrari look stronger this season, as suggested by Sebastian Vettel too. McLaren started last season with a podium in Austria, and Seidl has set the same goal for Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris for this season’s opener in Sakhir, Bahrain.
“It’s very difficult to read where anyone is. Of course, we don’t talk about how far we were from the limit. But I think we are well prepared and that we are in a very close battle again. We would be very, very satisfied with a podium in the first race.”
“Daniel is a great benchmark for Lando. He has shown he can win races with the right material and that helps Lando to take the next step. We can’t forget how young Lando is,” Seidl added of the 21-year-old. “From what I have seen, he is taking that step.”
