Nürburgring wind a concern for McLaren

McLaren

Nürburgring wind a concern for McLaren

The MCL35 has been extremely sensitive to slow changes in wind direction across the season

Sam Hall

Thursday 8 October 2020 09:23 Updated: 10:06

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has conceded he is more concerned about the German wind than the rain or cold temperatures forecast for the Eifel Grand Prix.

Two weeks ago in Sochi, the MCL35 demonstrated its main character flaw to a level not previously witnessed as the pace drivers Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris could extract varied wildly based on the smallest of changes in wind direction.

At the Nürburgring, temperatures are expected to sink lower than those seen in pre-season testing with a high of just 8C predicted for Sunday's race.

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More of a worry to Seidl is the wind, which is forecast to increase in strength across the weekend.

"For us, it is more the windy conditions that influence whether the car is performing or not, not necessarily the temperatures," said the McLaren boss.

"I think it is simply difficult to predict. It depends a lot on the tyre choice or how the tyres work if the temperatures are cold but it is the same challenge for all."

Although aware of the issue, and in bringing increasing levels of upgrades to the track, Seidl says the problem is "a complex topic to solve".

McLaren currently lies third in the constructors' standings, just two points ahead of rivals Racing Point and only seven clear of fifth-place Renault.

Seidl added: "In terms of predictions [for the weekend], it is too difficult to predict at the moment with this tight battle we are in in the midfield.

"We just need to hit the sweet spot of the car and be a tenth up and another car is a tenth down and suddenly you are not sixth but 12th in qualifying which is probably a fascinating thing to watch but gives us a lot of headaches from time to time.

"It is difficult to predict where we all end up. Don't forget, we also do testing in the winter in Barcelona where the track temperatures, the ambient is also below 10C in the morning and the car is performing because the grip is there with the tyre so I don't think that is the biggest issue.

"We struggle more with the wind which has an influence on our performance."

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