After 2021, there was secret hope at McLaren that the team might be able to compete for the title in 2022. That's just not in the cards. In fact, the team should be happy if it can fight for points. According to Andreas Seidl, other teams simply have things better in hand.

It must have been a bit of a shock for the McLaren team when Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris finished 14th and 15th respectively at the Bahrain Grand Prix. On the street circuit of Jeddah, the MCL36 seemed to do a little better, but the team is certainly not yet where it wants to be.

Team boss Andreas Seidl is realistic about the situation at McLaren. "We have to accept than other teams have done better over the winter. That's why we are where we are now, we have accepted that as a team are quick," the German explained to The Race.

According to Seidl, it's important for the team to be clear about that and "put the frustration to good use" in developing the car.

Catching up for McLaren

The preparation for the team was also not very smooth, with many problems during the test days in Bahrain. As a result, the team was not able to focus much on making the car faster in Bahrain, which Seidl says they were able to do in Saudi Arabia. And that has "helped to get a better result.

The German thinks that McLaren can now make up for the lost time of the test days, but it may also have to do with the characteristics of Jeddah. Seidl is therefore already looking forward to similar circuits on the calendar, so that McLaren can 'be competitive there'.