“We will try to end the season at a high point” – Andreas Seidl. by Mclaren

the McLaren F1 Team Hopes for third place in the constructors’ championship are very disappointing after a very disappointing one Qatar Grand Prix which saw Daniel Ricciardo become twelfth and Lando Norris ninth after a late puncture on Losail International Circuit.

The triple header couldn’t have gone worse for Mclaren in the battle for third place Scuderia Ferrari, the Qatar Grand Prix sealed the disappointing weeks for the team. Norris was looking for a top five finish that would really have kept the fight alive had it not been for a late left front tire that forced him into an unplanned pit stop.

Ricciardo also had a difficult race after starting in the lower third of the grid, and his hopes for points were also hampered by fuel problems during the race. McLaren are now 39.5 points behind Ferrari with two races to go and the team is hoping for a miracle from the remaining two races.

Team boss Andreas Seidl is grateful for the hard work of his team and that it takes everyone a week to recharge their batteries before the last two events of the brutal 2021 season.

“This triple header didn’t go in our direction. Lando drove a strong race today and looked for P4 thanks to a competitive car, good strategy and an excellent pit stop. A puncture took him out of the race and he finished in P9. When that happened, its hard tire had done fewer laps than the soft tire on its first stint, so this was very unexpected.

“It was always difficult for Daniel to get into the points from P14. He drove a very strong first stint that pulled him into the race, but then had to save an unusually large amount of fuel. We need to investigate why this was necessary on his part.

“My thanks go to the entire team, who worked incredibly hard both here on the track and at the plant, and to our colleagues from Mercedes HPP, who gave us excellent support. Everyone made themselves very strong through this intense run of races. We’re going home now, sitting back, taking a weekend and trying to end the season at a high point. ”