Andreas Seidl believes McLaren limited the damage in Baku
After losing its third place in the constructors' championship to Ferrari, Andreas Seidl believes damage limitation has been achieved as the gap is only two points with the Scuderia.
The McLarens were expected to be at the front this weekend. But their results, first in qualifying, and then in the race, did not meet expectations. Daniel Ricciardo didn’t make it through Q2 and had to start 13th, Norris set the 6th fastest time before being demoted 3 places due to a penalty. As for the Ferraris, they secured pole position and the 5th fastest time.
Despite their poor results in qualifying, the McLarens managed to climb up the rankings, but Norris is surpassed by Leclerc, as is Ricciardo who finishes behind Sainz.
However, McLaren Racing director Andreas Seidl believes that with a 5th and a 9th place finish, his drivers have limited the damage against their direct competitor in the constructor’s championship.
Starting P9 and P13 and being after the first corners P12 and P13, then finishing P5 and P9 just one position behind each of the Ferraris, it is clearly damage limitation.
In the end, we just have to make sure to finish higher on Saturdays, because our Sundays are easier, and I think we really had the pace to play higher. But when you’re in traffic, there’s not much you can do.
Again, it is a good job from both drivers and from the team to keep calm in a tough race. So, we are ultimately quite happy to have only lost four points against Ferrari, which is a good result after a disappointing Saturday,” he said to the Formula 1 website.
Seidl also commented on the red flag – caused by Max Verstappen’s accident – and believes that McLaren could have brought back even more points from Baku.
I think if it had been a normal race, it is clear that Mercedes and Red Bull would have been far ahead. But I think it could also have been interesting with the tire degradation on the Ferraris.
« It’s so difficult to predict what could have been possible in a normal race. Equally difficult to say what would have happened if we had finished qualifying where we should have been.
Translate: « But in the end, that doesn’t matter, you just have to make sure to gather everything on Saturday and Sunday, that’s what we need to work on. Then, you will get the results you deserve, that’s the goal as a team. »
