Andreas Seidl hoping to hit the ground running with Daniel Ricciardo

McLaren have bounced back in recent years. They want to continue this in 2021 and with the Mercedes engine, they have a good chance of doing so. Andreas Seidl, is largely responsible for the team's recent success and he has been discussing another new weapon in his arsenal during the launch of the MCL35M.

“I feel prepared, now it’s time to get back on track, get him in the car and get his feedback from actually driving the car," Seidl said of Daniel Ricciardo at the press conference that GPblog.com also attended.

“I’m happy with preparation. The most important thing at the minute is about getting used to the team, getting used to our procedures, the steering wheel, the cockpit and so on.”

Ricciardo must already be used to the team in Bahrain

Ricciardo is now one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, but this is not an easy switch for the Australian. He goes to a team that will have a new power source, one that he is not familiar and does so during an international crisis that causes a lot of work to be done remotely.

“Our goal is clear. We want to make sure when we hit the track in Bahrain at the first race, that it doesn’t feel like Daniel is doing his first race together with us, that’s the goal. Based on that, we worked out a clear plan on which boxes we have to tick to make sure he is ready at the first free practice session. In addition to the plans that are already in place on the marketing sides, commercial sides [etc] of the team.”

“Looking at what we have achieved so far, i’m very happy. We have obviously had a lot of online sessions with him to make him familiar with how we work, with our car and our systems. The last weeks, Daniel was on site here, doing simulator sessions, seat fits and so on together with the engineers and mechanics in order to get ready," Seidl concluded.