Formula 1 Austrian GP
McLaren needs to be "realistic" about true F1 pace - Seidl
McLaren says it must remain "realistic" about its true potential in Formula 1, despite battling with Mercedes at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Jul 7, 2021, 5:37 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Lando Norris qualified on the front row at the Red Bull Ring and ran ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the early stages of the race.
After Hamilton was delayed by damage, Norris retook the reigning champion to finish third, only dropping behind Valtteri Bottas because of a five-second penalty for forcing Sergio Perez off the track.
But despite delivering its strongest weekend in overall pace terms, team principal Andreas Seidl is very cautious about thinking it can target repeat performances everywhere.
He stressed that while updates to the McLaren MCL35M did improve its pace, the long straights and high speed corners at the Red Bull Ring played in favour of the car's characteristics.
“I think we need to be realistic, it was a track that suits our car” explained Seidl.
“What was good to see is that I think, compared to last weekend, with the developments and with the fine-tuning we did with the set-up as well, we definitely made a step forward in terms of performance, both in qualifying and in the race.
“That allowed us to be in a position today to battle some of the top cars.
“But I don’t know exactly which issues for example Mercedes had or Lewis had, which gave us a chance to then score a podium purely down to our own performance, which is great.”
Seidl has said before the race that realistically McLaren’s best hope was a fifth place finish, as the team believed it did not have the speed to expect to beat Mercedes and Red Bull on pure performance.
He is clear that Austria flattered the McLaren pace, and it simply cannot expect to repeat it everywhere.
“There’s no point to see things that aren’t there,” he said.
“You need to be realistic and, if you see the race for example last weekend and we’re here at the same track one weekend later, then we had no chance to battle these four cars. There was a huge gap.
“So we knew that we would have a better car compared to last weekend, but we couldn’t expect that we could actually fight them like that.
“At the same time, we don’t know which problems they experienced: especially Mercedes.
“We know exactly where we stand as a team, we know what the deficit is. We know what the deficit also still is at the team’s side in terms of infrastructure and so on. So it’s not a surprise that we are where we are.
“We are on a journey. We have a clear plan of how we want to reduce this deficit and that takes some years, but the good thing is we make steps.
“We’re ambitious, but there is no magic and I simply think it’s always good to have a sense of realism, and not get carried away with results like Austria, which are great and give good energy to the team.
“But it doesn’t change the picture, the realistic picture we have in terms of where we are."
Read Also:
- The upgrades that helped Verstappen pull further clear of Mercedes
- Seidl: "Not right" F1 penalty system puts Norris close to race ban
- Montoya: ‘Crazy’ to penalise F1 drivers for defending outside moves
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Alonso felt "stupid" sticking to Turn 1 track limits in Austria
Next article F1 upgrades that helped Verstappen pull further clear of Mercedes
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
McLaren
Lando Norris laments "very bad job" in qualifying for F1 United States GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
8 h
Lando Norris laments "very bad job" in qualifying for F1 United States GP
"We're just a step behind" - what McLaren is trying to solve with its final 2026 upgrades
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
"We're just a step behind" - what McLaren is trying to solve with its final 2026 upgrades
Latest news
Aprilia unsure whether Australian GP cancellation good or bad for the team
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
31 min
Aprilia unsure whether Australian GP cancellation good or bad for the team
How the seven NASCAR Cup title contenders perform at Talladega
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
54 min
How the seven NASCAR Cup title contenders perform at Talladega
MotoGP's final Australian GP at Phillip Island cancelled due to poor weather
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
3 h
MotoGP's final Australian GP at Phillip Island cancelled due to poor weather
2026 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Indonesian GP
5 h
2026 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe