How the parts fit together for McLaren

“But in the end, it’s not just about electricity, it’s about the package, it’s about reliability, it’s about using the gensets over the weekend as well. And like I said, it’s a good thing to have the powertrain that won the championship in the back of our car. “

Like all the other teams, McLaren has its eye on the massive development program for 2022 that must be carried out under the new budget cap constraints. Seidl says his team will continue to improve the current car.

“The goal is clear, we want the car to perform better. We also want to understand our current package better and better from race to race in order to achieve maximum performance. The big challenge this year is how long you actually want to continue developing this year’s car. When will you completely switch to next year’s car?

“It’s a decision that we have to make as a team, pretty much live, depending on how the next races go. Because, as I said several times, we definitely want to have a good season this year too, we want to be competitive.

“It’s important to keep the positive momentum on our side and we definitely want to be able to fight our competitors for that P3 again this year.”

It will be a close competition: “In this fight that we are in, everything is within one to three tenths. And as we’ve seen in the last two years, that’s nothing in the end. It can change so quickly depending on the lane features, environmental conditions, tire choices, etc.

“It’s just important for us to maintain that respect for all of our competitors, as we always do. It’s important to just focus on ourselves, get more performance out of our package and then hopefully be able to fight for that P3 again. “

Lando Norris has emerged as a star at McLaren when the team returns to the top

Florent Gooden / DPPI

Ricciardo is an important part of the longer-term strategy and brings the additional knowledge that a seven-time Grand Prix winner brings with him.

“With his 10 years of experience in Formula 1, he has a clear view of certain things on the operational side,” says Seidl. “Also in terms of what it needs from a car to drive faster. And of course we benefit from this every day that we work with him.

“In terms of personality and character, you all know him. He’s a very positive guy, which of course is also important. For me these guys are the heroes of this – the sport. Everyone in the team looks up to them.

“An F1 season is intense for every single member of the team, the sun doesn’t always shine, you also have some difficult moments. And then more importantly, you have two positive guys who go back to the garage in the morning and say, “Hey guys, let’s go again, let’s hit back.”

“I can clearly see that he has taken the next step in terms of personality and character.”

“And that’s something I’m very happy with when I see that our two boys Lando and Daniel have this positive attitude very, very important. It also helps me a lot to have that right spirit on the team that is so important. “

Like the other top drivers who have new seats this year, Ricciardo is still fully up to date. In Bahrain he was hampered by aero damage after a first-round hit by Pierre Gasly, and in Imola he received a team call to let Norris pass, a message that was painful for him but he complied.

“We agree with both drivers and within the team that we will always make decisions that ensure that we maximize the result for the team,” says Seidl.

“We let our drivers drive freely, but when we see that they run into each other on the track and when we judge that one driver is at a superior pace compared to the other driver at that moment, we make the decision to swap.

“In general, we will always make sure for both drivers that these two guys can compete against each other on the track in the end. But even if we are of the opinion that a swap makes sense to maximize the team result, then we will do it. “

The eventual podium finish showed it was a good call and was further proof that Norris is maturing well into its third season.