McLaren 'pumped' for the return of Formula 1 - Seidl

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl is excited for the return of Formula 1 as the team seek to build on the momentum of 2019.

McLaren finished fourth in 2019, a return to the podium for the first time since 2014 being the highlight with Carlos Sainz finishing third in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Confessing to having mixed feelings over the extended break, Seidl having enjoyed the extra 'family time' granted by the lockdown, the German is now raring to get going.

“Knowing now that in less than two and a half weeks we go racing again, to be honest, one thing that was clear as well in this two and a half month break is there’s a reason why we wake up every morning as racers," Seidl said in a McLaren video.

“The longer the break was and the longer we were away from racing, at least for me and I know that also from a lot of team members, the desire to go back to racing and to go back to competition, to measure ourselves against the best in the sport, became bigger and bigger every day.

“So I can assure you, me personally, but also the entire team, we are really pumped up now to get back to Austria and see where we are."

While Racing Point caught the eye with the RP20, a car that was dubbed the 'Pink Mercedes' after its striking resemblance to the 2019 Mercedes W10, McLaren quietly went about its business.

The order of the midfield is unclear, Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo having suggested several teams could be separated by less than one tenth, but Seidl aims to once again be in the hunt.

He added: “We know from winter testing that we definitely made a good step over the winter. We had a good test.

“At the same time, the competition around us did a great job as well, so it’s important now to get back to this momentum we had over winter as quickly as possible.

"Get back into this competition mood, this fighting spirit, and then hopefully we have a good start.”

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