Andreas Seidl: “Paul-Ricard was not an isolated coup”

McLaren did it again this weekend after the double entry in the Top 10 achieved a week earlier at Paul-Ricard. Satisfied with your troops?
After all the recent chatter, this fun-to-watch race is the best thing that could have happened to the F1. There are two big winners tonight: sport and McLaren. This race also confirms that we must be very careful with hasty and short-term measures. For us, finishing 6th and 8th is an excellent result. Great piloting by Carlos (Sainz. Editor's note) who started from the last position. It could have been even better if he hadn't damaged his wing a few laps before the end. As for Lando (Norris. Editor's note), after a great start and two places gained, he focused on his race as we had discussed beforehand. This evening, we are happy to show that Paul-Ricard was not an isolated coup.

Are you still in the observation phase or already fully operational?
Eight weeks in the job, including three traveling, I haven't really had time to meet everyone or understand all the workings. It helps that all the changes initiated last year are starting to pay off. I am still in a phase of in-depth evaluation of what is happening in the team in order to identify the weak and strong points to work on how I want the team to approach the future.

Did you find at McLaren what you thought you would find there?
I didn't have any big surprises, neither good nor bad. I took office fully aware that the last five seasons have been difficult, and this is not something that can be easily resolved in terms of team spirit and mentality. But the results help. It's nice to see that the car is responding well to the developments. We continue to bring in parts; which means that we understand it better and better. It’s a good boost to team morale. And it also makes my action easier.

What does your role as Team Principal cover?
I am responsible for the team, its successes and its failures! I have to make sure the racing team has everything it needs to operate at the highest level. To put it simply, I am in charge of the technical development of the car while James (Key, technical director. Editor's note) is responsible for its production.

McLaren has one of the best records in F1, but isn't that a heavy burden to carry when things aren't going so well?
For me, it's just motivation and it's the same for the members of the team. Belonging to such an organization, representing such a name, it has real meaning. Victory should be the reality for McLaren, and the past is there to remind us of that. There is a common desire to belong to the team as it should be. We are not currently talking about victories or championships, but about ensuring that we have continuous development in terms of performance with the clear vision that at one point we will be able to fight with the Top 3 of the grid.

But isn't the past an obstacle to change? Isn't it a reflex to cling to what worked even if it no longer works?
The fact is that we are 1 seconds behind, and there must be a reason. We may not have the budget of the three big teams but it is still substantial and, as an organization, we are not performing on the track at the level that we should be. Once again, I do not want to draw too hasty conclusions but my job is to define, with the members of the team, the strong and weak points of our organization in order to have a clear vision of the approach to adopt.

Has F1 changed a lot since your previous stint with BMW?
Over the last ten years I have followed F1 as a fan, and I think it has lost nothing. She’s still this incredible platform. From this point of view, it has not changed since 2009 when I left it. The only difference is that budgets have exploded and the gap between the top three teams and the rest of the field is not tenable. At the moment, for a team like ours to be competitive, we would have to invest so much money that it would jeopardize the very existence of the company. I know that each competitor has their own agenda, but we need solid governance. The 2021 regulations will weigh extremely heavily on the future of F1.

What do you think of the decision to keep the tires in 2019?
The reason we had this meeting is that we currently have three top teams with similar resources, one of which is doing a much better job than the other two. This is the situation we face. It is up to the three teams concerned, the FIA ​​and the FOM to see if the problem can be resolved. But for me, there are much more important problems like the gap between these same teams and the rest of the field. This is the problem we need to focus on. This cannot be resolved in the short term but we have high hopes for 2021.

What would you like to see from the team before the end of the season?
Different things. If we look at our position in the championship, maintaining our 4th place will be very difficult. But even if we finish 5th or 6th, it will be a step forward compared to last year in terms of performance. It's positive. As Paul-Ricard and Spielberg clearly demonstrated this weekend, we now have a good car that we are developing and that is encouraging for the future. My objective is also to show that in the areas with which a team must deal – pit-stop, strategy, operation, reliability, etc. -, we are already at the level of the best. This gives the team the confidence to be aggressive in terms of car development. This is my goal in the coming months.

Are you involved in discussions regarding 2021?
Yes of course. We believe that the discussions we are having with the other teams, with Liberty, with the FIA ​​– which are not easy discussions – are constructive. We have high hopes for these important changes because they represent an opportunity for us to get back into the game. The biggest problem we currently face at Woking is that of an independent team who, despite having a good budget, simply cannot compete with the top teams. Budgets have exploded over the last ten years and the capped budget can create the conditions for a more homogeneous grid.

Le WEC also works for a better future. What do you think of the Hypercar regulations?
I think I have enough to think about with the F1 2021 regulations (laughs)!

Okay, but if McLaren decided to get involved, would your knowledge of the WEC and Le Mans be called upon?
If McLaren were to decide to get involved, I would be happy to share my experience with Zak (Brown, director of McLaren Racing. Editor's note) and Gil (de Ferran, competition director of McLaren Racing. Editor's note) in the evening over coffee, but I would remain focused on the F1 program alone.