rivea couple of hours north westof the Red Bull Ring, away from
the Styrian mountains into the rural landscape of Upper Austria, and you
quickly hit the valleyof the river Inn. With its source highup in the Alps, the
river flows across Bavaria through some notable towns, including Innsbruck
(meaning bridge over the Inn), and forms the natural border between
Germany and Austria.
When the river reaches the rolling countryside near the city of Passau,
it becomes the largest tributary of the Danube before flowing into the Black
Sea. This was the rural backdrop – and home – in the early 1990s
for one current Formula 1 team principal. McLaren’s new boss Andreas Seidl was just 16 when his
countryman Michael Schumacher was bursting onto the F1 scene, which inspired in Seidl a single-minded
desire towork in grand prix racing.
Sitting in the McLaren motorhome in the Austrian Grand Prix paddock in Spielberg, just over 100 miles
from where he grewup in Passau, Seidl, now 43, is recountingthe moment Schumacher lit the fire inside
him to make his own career in Formula 1.
“I was still at school but, thanks to Michael, my interest developed in 1992 and I was soon trying to
analysetimings sheets from Friday practice sessions,” says Seidl. “The desire grew, so I studied mechanical
engineering with a clear target to be an engineer in Formula 1 – that was the goal.”
Both his parents worked in education and there was no history of motor racing in the family, but like
so many who work in thesport today, asa
youngster Seidlhad a steely determination to get
to F1 and nothing was goingto stand in his way.
Even before he’d finished his course at
Munich University, he was badgering former
BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen
for a work placement, at the time when the
manufacturer
was anenginesupplier to Williams (from
2000 to 2005).
“In those days it was possible to get hold of
Mario Theissen on the phone and I must have
called him three or four times, desperateto do
an apprenticeship,” recalls Seidl. “Every time
he wou ld say ‘it’s not possible’ until finally he
relented and I got in. I hadn’t even finished my
studies, but could finish my diploma there, and
at the age of 23 they took me on.I was in.”
Seidl was placed on BMW’s Formula 1 engineprogrammein Munich, working on the dynos in power
development and reliability. While itwas his first step into the sport, he still had a clear targetto work
trackside so subsequently transferred to BMW’s test team. Finally, in 2003, he made the breakthrough and
was on the race team working as Mark Webber’s BMW engine engineer.
“It was great to finally work in the business and to meet the heroes that I used towatch on TV in the 1990s
when I was young – people like Frank Williams and Patrick Head. I got to learn from an Englishgarage how
Formula 1 works and itwas a great experience, but I also wanted to show what I could contribute.”
BMW supplied engines to Williams for six seasons, but further attemptsto integrate with the team were
rebuffed, so in 2006 the German car manufacturer turned to Sauber toenlarge its Formula 1 presence,
effectively making the Swiss team itsworks entry. Seidl moved to Switzerland and took the opportunity to
work on the chassis side of the operation, becoming head of track operations
and helping the team grow and improve enoughto win the 2008 Canadian
Grand Prix with Robert Kubica.
A year later F1 hit a crisis. With aglobal recession looming and the threat
of a breakaway championship, BMW, like Honda, suddenly pulled the plug.
For Seidl, itwas a hugeshock.
“It was really out of the blue and atough period for me personally,” he
says wistfully. “I was incharge of people and we had to reduce the team as
a consequence, making some tough decisions. It was a big shock becauseI72 F1 RACING AUGUST 2019
“FORMULA 1 IS UNIQUE. THERE IS THE
ATTENTIONTO DETAIL, THE PERMANENT
QUESTIONING OFYOURSELF, NEVER
STANDING STILL, ALWAYS GOING FOR
THE EXTRA MILE, THE PUBLIC PRESSURE,
AND ALSO THE MENTALITY OF SAYING
‘NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE’”
PICTURE:MARKSUTTON