McLaren must carry confidence from strong results "without arrogance"

McLaren

McLaren must carry confidence from strong results "without arrogance"

McLaren has secured a win and a pole in the last two races

Sam Hall & Ewan Gale

Saturday 2 October 2021 17:01

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has warned it is important to carry confidence gained from recent results "without arrogance".

Daniel Ricciardo secured a first victory in nine years at the Italian Grand Prix before Lando Norris took pole for the first time in the same timeframe in Russia, confirming the progress the team has made.

As Seidl explained: “Results like Monza or the pole position first and foremost is a great reward for everyone inside the team, all the hard work everyone is putting in at the track and back home.

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“These emotions you experience as a team from victories like Monza or pole positions, that is what keeps you going and keeps you going the extra mile also which is important if you want to fight these guys ahead of us.

“But it is obviously also very important to get these results as a confirmation we are heading in the right direction. It just shows that compared to last year that we have made a good step forward again with the car performance, with how we work as a team, which is important to see in terms of results because that keeps you going as a team."

With a 17.5 point gap over Ferrari in the race for third in the constructors' standings, Seidl insisted the recent confidence must not allow the team to believe it is in a fight with the top two teams and instead remain focused on the current objective.

“It gives the team the confidence that you need in order to keep going in this direction," he added."

"Especially when it is about car development, it is about the operational side at the weekend, you need to have a certain confidence level within the team without arrogance.

“That is also very important, not getting arrogant, because you need that confidence, especially in tricky situations to pull it off as a team.

“At the same time, it is also important to not get carried away with the results we have had now. It is important to always have a realistic picture of where we are as a team. We have this realistic picture but overall I am very happy with what we can do at the moment.”