McLaren claim 'lucky punch' podiums killed by F1 rule changes

Sam Hall
Sunday 4 December 2022 12:00

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl believes the time of 'lucky punch' podiums is "pretty much over" in F1's latest regulatory era.

The sport raced to a new set of technical regulations this year but far from shaking up the pack, the changes solidified Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes as the top three, even if in a different order.

This was highlighted by the fact Lando Norris was the only driver to feature on the podium across the season who was not associated with one of the 'big three'.

In total, just seven drivers shared the silverware across the year, in stark contrast to the 13 of the previous season.

"It is not a surprise what we have seen," said Seidl. “Especially when you go into a new era of Formula 1 with completely new technical regulations.

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"The teams that have the best infrastructure, that had unlimited money in the past in order to create the best possible teams, and that have the best available tools and methodologies in place, there is even more reason that when you have to do something completely from scratch, they create an even bigger advantage for themselves by using everything that they have in place.

“Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise what we have seen this year, because the time of these lucky punches is pretty much over with the regulations that we have."

Despite the domination of the leading three teams this term, Seidl remains confident the budget cap that was first introduced for the 2021 season, will have the long-term effect of bringing the field closer together.

“At the same time, I am absolutely convinced with having a budget cap in place, with having stability in the regulations, that over time performance will come closer together between all of the teams in Formula 1 and the sport will become better and better," he added.

“I am absolutely convinced of that.”