McLaren boss rates Sainz and Norris' seasons so far

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has generously given Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris a rating of nine out of 10 for their performances this season, joking that there is always room for improvement.

The driving duo have impressed since teaming up for the 2019 season, with McLaren quickly establishing themselves as the fourth-best team in the constructors’ championship behind the elite trio of Mercedes, Red Bull, and Mercedes.

Both Sainz and Norris sit in the top 10 of the driver rankings, and although Seidl would “give them both a nine” he insisted that “there is always something to improve.”

“I’m very happy, to be honest, with everything they have done this year,” he continued.

“There were not a lot of mistakes, to be honest. They were pulling off the performance in all the qualifying sessions, race by race, they’ve been pulling off great race starts, they pull off great race performances.

“As I said before, the work they put in also together with the engineers, how they give the feedback also in terms of giving clear direction of where the weaknesses are in the car, it’s impressive for me.

“I couldn’t wish for any better two drivers at the moment.”

McLaren are one of only two teams to confirm their driving line-up for 2020, and Seidl is happy the team have a streamlined transition into the next campaign with Sainz and Norris once again on board.

“We are happy that we have these two drivers here on our side. And again, it’s also the reason why we announced early on so that we move on into next year,” the team boss added.

“We are very impressed by the performance of these two guys they are having, by the way they work together with the engineers, with me, and with you guys [the media]. It’s an important element of the positive spirit and atmosphere and morale that we are having right now inside the team, which for me is key to making the next step as a team.

“I think they can have a great future with us. It’s down to us, to me, to make sure with the team that we deliver for them in the future a machine for them to fight higher up in terms of positions.”

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