Seidl wants to lead McLaren back to the top of F1

Andreas Seidl has revealed why he took the role of McLaren team principal, returning to Formula 1 after a decade away.

The German was with BMW from 2000 to 2009, but left along with the team when they withdrew from F1 as a constructor. Thereafter, he worked in DTM and then the Porsche LMP1 squad, but returned to F1 in January with McLaren.

He says the passion to get McLaren among the elite teams in the sport again was the main motivation behind the move.

“When I decided to go to McLaren, Zak [Brown, the company’s F1 CEO] was the first one to contact me,” said Seidl.

“It was immediately attractive for me to become McLaren’s team principal.

“I then had another conversation with the owners of the team and realised that they were really determined to continue investing in the next few years and had a clear vision to return to the top.

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“From that point, it was a relatively clear decision for me to accept the challenge.

“I want to lead this team back to the top, step by step.”

Seidl remains happy with the improvements that have been made since his arrival, compared to previous results, and is hoping his experience in other motorsport disciplines will benefit the team.

“McLaren has gone through a very difficult period in recent years, with really bad results,” he continued.

“With the experience I’ve gained in my career, I think I can contribute a lot to continue this positive trend that already started last year.”

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