Team boss Andreas Seidl explains why McLaren will again forego a major update on the MCL36 in Silverstone and what the goal is for the second half of the season
Silverstone is the scene for the second major wave of updates in Formula 1 after Barcelona. But one big team is holding back strongly here: McLaren. In contrast to the competition, the racing team around team boss Andreas Seidl has hardly any new parts with them – because internally they are still “hotly debating and analysing” when the right time has come, Seidl told Sky.
Due to the budget restrictions in Formula 1 and the “extreme limitation in wind tunnel times”, “careful” timing is the be-all and end-all, explains Seidl.
“That’s why we don’t have a major update at the moment, because we believe we still have some potential in the current package. And then we have to think or decide when exactly we will bring upgrades for the rest of the season. ”
Why McLaren expects improvement even without an update
But even without technical progress, Seidl believes McLaren are in a good position going into Silverstone. He says: “It’s definitely a track that should suit us better compared to Montreal.”
The Canadian Grand Prix “didn’t go so well” from McLaren’s point of view. Neither performance nor durability had been right. “And it’s just important for us to deliver a clean weekend,” says Seidl, especially in the broad Formula 1 midfield, where even small points could be decisive.
“I think we still have a car that is capable of finishing in the top 10 and fighting with teams like Alpine, Aston Martin or Alfa Romeo. And that is the goal,” says Seidl.
Constancy is needed in the second half of the season
“We are still in fourth place in the constructors’ championship, which is a great result for us after the first nine races. But for my personal taste, the season has not been consistent enough for us so far.”
His team has explicitly had “good weekends”. Seidl cites Melbourne as an example, but also Imola and Monaco, “where we were partly on the same level as Mercedes,” says the team boss. “But then, unfortunately, we also had weekends like Montreal, where we struggled to finish in the points.”
From this follows “the main goal for the second half of the season,” says Seidl. Namely: “That we simply bring more consistency into the results, which hopefully will be enough for us to defend this fourth place until the end of the year.