Andreas Seidl tried to hire me for Porsche Le Mans drive - Daniel Ricciardo

McLaren

Seidl tried to hire me for Porsche Le Mans drive - Ricciardo

McLaren team principal Seidl won Le Mans three times consecutively in the mid-2010s

Ewan Gale

Sunday 17 January 2021 12:29

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New McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo says he is looking forward to working with Andreas Seidl having spoken to the team principal over a potential Le Mans drive with Porsche in 2014.

Seidl led the Porsche team that dominated the pinnacle of endurance racing in the mid-2010s before the German manufacturer pulled out of the World Endurance Championship - allowing him to make the switch to McLaren.

Now that Ricciardo has moved to the Woking-based team in place of Ferrari-bound Carlos Sainz, the Australian is eager to start the season alongside Seidl.

"Andreas is a guy I do really look forward to working with," he said.

"I was first in contact with him I think back in 2014. There was a bit of a push to try and do Le Mans at the time with Porsche and there was a little bit of small talk but I have heard people that have worked with him speak very highly so I look forward to that. I will keep being a sponge and trying to make myself better."

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McLaren will be the fifth team of Ricciardo's F1 career, the Australian having previously raced with HRT, Toro Rosso, Red Bull and Renault.

Whilst all four teams had different "characters" at the helm, Ricciardo explained he had attempted to learn different lessons from each.

Asked who the most fun team boss had been, he replied: "It depends on what the definition of fun is.

"There have been some characters and I genuinely learnt from all of them and tried to benefit from their traits as bosses," he added.

"Particularly when you're young, you need to rely on experienced people and people who have been in the sport for longer and try to learn their lessons.

"I have never really been...I guess I am stubborn in some ways but in terms of learning and wanting to keep developing for myself, I have never been stubborn and that has helped to learn from these guys."