McLaren target improved qualifying in bid to reclaim P3 from F1 rivals Ferrari
The Woking outfit has enjoyed a strong start to the 2021 season but an impressive resurgence from Ferrari has enabled it to leapfrog McLaren into third place in the championship after beating its chief rival at the last two rounds in Monaco and Baku.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz each finished ahead of a McLaren car in Baku as the Scuderia moved into a narrow two-point lead over the British squad in what is proving to a titanic scrap for ‘best of the rest’ behind Red Bull and Mercedes.
And Seidl has called on his team to maintain “strong momentum operationally” heading into the first triple-header of the season, starting with this weekend’s French Grand Prix.
“After street circuits in Monaco and Baku, our attention now turns towards the first triple header of the season with the first race in France,” Seidl said. “As a team, we know what to expect from the demands of a triple header and we’re well prepared for the task at hand.
“Keeping strong momentum operationally, with our reliability and the management of spare parts, is a priority to overcome the unique challenges that back-to-back races present.”
Back-to-back pole positions have helped Ferrari score some big results at the last two events and highlighted the need for McLaren to find more speed in qualifying, an area Seidl stressed he wants to see gains made.
“After taking the time to analyse and understand the data from Baku, it’s clear that we still need to continue to take steps forward as a team and extract the most out of our package as we compete in a very close battle with our competitors,” he explained.
“The Circuit Paul Ricard is a different style of track compared to previous races and therefore it’s difficult to understand the pecking order ahead of the weekend. Our priority going forward is to qualify well in order to put ourselves in the best position possible to score the most points on Sundays.
“We remain focused and determined to once again fight for good points this weekend.”
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