Breaking news
Formula 1
Seidl the right man to lead McLaren turnaround - Webber
Mark Webber says his former Porsche LMP1 boss Andreas Seidl will have a "red hot go" at turning McLaren's Formula 1 fortunes around.
Andrew van Leeuwen
Published: Feb 8, 2019, 9:17 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The nine-time grand prix winner and Seidl have a history that dates back to Webber's first season with Williams, when Seidl was an up-and-coming engineer working for BMW.
They then worked together again at Porsche when Webber stepped back from F1 and joined Porsche's LMP1 programme.
Based on that experience, Webber is confident that Seidl is the man for the job at the struggling McLaren outfit.
He reckons Seidl was a driving force in Porsche's sportscar success, and says he was unsurprised to see him take a more challenging role rather than joining an in-form team.
"If there's any man for the job..." Webber told Motorsport.com. "He's going to give it a red hot go. He's an absolute workaholic, very, very, very sharp on the technical side, and great with people.
"He's certainly one of the best I've worked with. Andreas and I, we've known each other since 2005. He was my engine engineer at Williams, at BMW. He was always going places.
"He's dead excited [about the McLaren move], he's really excited about it. But he knows he's got a task ahead. He's had some snapshots of Formula 1 with Sauber BMW.
"He was instrumental in our success with the 919. Not just him, it was a big team, but he definitely turbocharged the results.
"He's always wanted to get back into F1. And I don't think it was his only phone call from the paddock, to be honest.
"I think he sees it as a tremendous opportunity to make a big difference."
Even with Seidl at the helm, Webber isn't expected to see an immediate turnaround for McLaren.
He says getting back to the top of F1 "will take time" for the once legendary team, and that a renewed focus on grand prix racing will be key to making it happen.
"For a lot of Ron [Dennis'] faults, that's when they were at their best," said Webber. "When they were at their most harmonious, with the commercial model in place – you get your drivers and off you go.
"McLaren were a beast. Then they wanted to do road cars, then it's like 'what are we doing here?' Then it's a bit of IndyCar, a bit of... you can't do everything.
"It's that laser focus. Every team that's been successful in Formula 1, they've been focussing on one thing and recruiting well."
Andreas Seidl, Porsche Team, Team Principal, Mark Webber, Porsche Team
Photo by: Porsche AG
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 Brabham BT62 could make Australian Grand Prix appearance
Next article Ferrari set for unique double-stacked exhaust in 2019
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Andrew van Leeuwen
Toby Price explains 'unfortunate' Mitsubishi split
Dakar
Dakar
Dakar
Toby Price explains 'unfortunate' Mitsubishi split
Supercars parity review begins
Supercars
Supercars
Supercars parity review begins
SRO set for bigger Australian GT presence
GT World Challenge Australia
GT World Challenge Australia
SRO set for bigger Australian GT presence
More from
McLaren
Lando Norris laments "very bad job" in qualifying for F1 United States GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
17 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
Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
22 min
Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'
Kyle Busch Remembered: Rowdy's wildest and most impressive Talladega moments
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
54 min
Kyle Busch Remembered: Rowdy's wildest and most impressive Talladega moments
Lamborghini World Finals PRO-PRO/AM Race 2: Leitch/Stasi dominate to seal title
Lamborghini Super Trofeo
LBST Lamborghini Super Trofeo
World Finals - Monza 2026
1 h
Lamborghini World Finals PRO-PRO/AM Race 2: Leitch/Stasi dominate to seal title
Toto Wolff reveals he is actively vetting “two or three people” to replace him at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
1 h
Toto Wolff reveals he is actively vetting “two or three people” to replace him at Mercedes
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