McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown believes his F1 team principal Andreas Seidl is the best to be found on the grid.
Seidl was appointed McLaren team principal in January 2019, starting the role in May of that year.
And since then the team have very much been on the rise, claiming P4 in the 2019 Constructors’ standings before finishing ‘best of the rest’ P3 in the 2020 Constructors’ Championship.
In the following season, McLaren secured their first one-two finish since Canada 2010 as Daniel Ricciardo took victory in Monza ahead of his team-mate Lando Norris in P2.
Norris collected a further three podium finishes across that 2021 campaign, as well as pole position in Russia.
With Seidl at the helm, Brown believes there is no better person in Formula 1 for that team principal role.
“He’s focused on creating the right team culture and empowers people. He delegates and he empowers his people.” —Zak Brown on Andreas Seidl.
More appreciation to Andreas ??? pic.twitter.com/8SAX6CsKll
— isa⁴⁴ (@f1witch_) August 31, 2021
Quoted by Motorsport-Magazin.com, Brown said: “He took a lot of pressure off my shoulders and spread it on his shoulders, he did an outstanding job. I think he’s the best team boss in Formula 1.
“He leads the racing team, that’s his show. The co-operation with Andreas and me is outstanding. We complement each other. There are things I contribute to the team and things he contributes, but there is no overlap.
“We have a lot of fun together. I think this high-performance and fun culture emerges and is responsible for the results we achieve.”
It is not only Brown, Seidl or the drivers though that have steered McLaren firmly back onto the right path, with Brown making it clear all the employees are in their right place and contributing.
“We have all the people where they should be,” Brown stated.
“They are very committed and have committed themselves to the team for a long period of time. With the drivers, the team boss, the engineers or the car designers. I’m really happy with these people.”
The new regulations for 2022 offer the potential to mix up the pecking order in Formula 1, so in theory a team like McLaren should be in prime position to escape the upper midfield and challenge at the front again.
Brown though is not putting such immediate pressure on the team, instead giving McLaren a couple of years to become title contenders again.
In the past, Brown has mentioned 2024 as the season when McLaren should be a title-worthy team once more.
“We achieved all the goals we set ourselves at the beginning of the season to get closer to the top,” said Brown of McLaren’s 2021 season.
“We have to look back at last year and see it as a very successful year. We need to build on that to hopefully challenge for the title in a couple of years.”
Source: Read Full Article