McLaren not getting carried away in F1 midfield fight

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has reminded his squad not to assume its position as leaders of the Formula 1 midfield given the rapid changes in the pecking order witnessed over the first half of the season.

McLaren currently hold fourth place in the F1 world constructors’ standings with a useful 39-point gap over nearest rivals Toro Rosso.

Spearheaded by Carlos Sainz’s run of form going into the summer break, with a pair of fifth place finishes in Germany and Hungary, McLaren have looked the head of the F1 midfield on a consistent basis but team boss Seidl has warned against complacency.

“It’s still difficult to judge to be honest, because we have seen how quickly it can change,” Seidl said. “We have seen how close the Alfas were for example in the race [in Hungary]. In the end I think it will depend of course on track layouts, track temperatures and things like that.

“It will also depend on how much more updates everyone will bring in the second half of the season until everyone switches then to next year’s car.

“Obviously it’s good to have this gap at the moment in the points standing, but for us it’s important not to get carried away by that, heads down, and just make sure we keep improving.”

Despite his warnings, Seidl isn’t focusing on defending against any particular F1 rival and wants the Woking-based squad to concentrate on its own improvements.

“We are also not just focused on one team,” he said. “We have seen in the last races how quickly it can go.

“You just need one crazy race, and then one team is back up again. For us it’s important to focus on ourselves and keep improving as a team. That’s it.”