In the week prior to our chat, Seidl revealed that McLaren isto
strip out its old, out-of-date windtunnel and build a new one in
situ in Woking, thereby negating the need for the teamto travel to
use To yota’s tunnel in Cologne, as is currently the case. The two-
year project is a sign of the board’s commitment and the long-term
strategy to rebuildthe McLaren F1 programme. “As soon I as see
stuff I want to change, I take action,” Seidl adds.
Those words might give certain people at McLaren cause to
feel nervous. Old working practices and traditions labelled ‘we’ve
always done it that way’ need to be broken down. As Williams
has discovered, with over 80% of the team based at the factory,
it’s this area that needsthe m ost attention with regardsto finding
performance. Outsource if necessary, strengthen critical areas
and have a clear management structure. From his experience in
creating winning racing teams, Seidl has the credentials tosor t McLaren’s ills–
but will he be ruthless?
“I wouldn’t call it ruthless,” he counters. “For me, it’s important I’m in charge of this racing team.
I have my ideas of how you run a successful organisation and I’ll implement these ideas witha
clear strong leadership from my side.
“I think that’s required because of where the team is at the moment. Also, it’s important to saya
lot of changes have been implemented last year and they are starting to pay off. You can see from the
beginning of the season we have made a good step forward with the car.
“We have a goodspirit now inside the team
and it’s about working together with James
[Key] to work out a clear plan with how we
want to set up the team for the future.
I rate James highly, both technically and as
a personality.
“He has the same thinking and approach as
I have, and our door is always open. I want to
be close to the garage and workshops to understand what is going on.
“I’ve worked in a lot of thesepositions in various racing teams
myself over the past 15 years, so I think I have a goodfeeling for what
is good for the team.”
When McLaren cameto Barcelona at the beginning of May it could
only manage tenth and 12th on thegrid. At a similar track at Paul
Ricard, a month later, McLaren qualified both cars in the top sixfor
the first time since 2014 – a clear indication that technical updates are
working.
“This is the most important thing, the results we are having at
the moment, butwe mu st not get overexcited, as it’s so tight in the
midfield,” Seidl cautions. “It can change quickly – we are fast one
day, another day it’s another team. Still, it’s important to have these
results because ofthe p ositive spirit it
brings the team.
“I’m not dreaming about victories or
championships, for us it’s important
to have a positive development which
hopefully brings us closer to the top
cars. We have a healthy budget, a good
infrastructure, motivated, talented people and we are underperforming. Full stop.
“My focus is to make continual improvements step-by-step to bring us to the best possible
position. It willtake time to get to a level withMercedes and Ferrari – but we will give it our all.”
With that, Andreas breaks into a smile and descends the stairs of the McLaren motorhome to
return to thegarage and oversee the nextengineering meeting. By hiring this man from the Inn
valley, McLaren looks set for a brighter future.76 F1 RACING AUGUST 2019
“IT WILL TAKE TIME TO GET TO A LEVEL
WITH MERCEDES AND FERRARI –
BUT WE WILL GIVE IT OUR ALL”
Seidl was MarkWebber’s
BMW engineer when both
were part of the Williams
set-up in 2005On the McLaren pitwall
with CEO Zak Brown,
who was responsible
for bringing the German
to the team PICTURE:XXXXXXXXXXX