F1 heads to Saudi Arabia for the penultimate round on the calendar at the new circuit of Jeddah, and MotorLat was present in a virtual media event with Andreas Seidl and selected media, to hear the McLaren’s Team Principal thoughts on the asphalt, the track, and the final steps to the end of the 2021 F1 year, and how, with the natural being of the design of this brand new track, it could be “very easily” to go into a costly accident.

“We have an experienced team and experienced drivers also. They are used to these kinds of track layouts from going to Monaco, from going to Baku... Drivers are aware of what is out there and how to approach to be the best on the performing side going into qualy,” the German said.

“Feedback between engineers, mechanics, the team and drivers was very positive. This is a special track, with the walls being so close. We could see maybe a lot of incidents, maybe red flags thinking about Baku as an example. But I would say so far so good, so looking forward to finally get going here, and see how our package does here.”

The final stops in the championship calendar also mark the final steps in the year-long battle that Ferrari and McLaren held for P3 in the constructors’ standings, and as the Maranello team finds itself almost 40 points ahead of the Woking-based team, the McLaren boss says McLaren will be happy with a final P4 on the table. “Of course we want to fight for P3 and in the next few races see how we can score as many points as possible, but at the same time, if we score P4 this year, I’m very happy,” he said.

“I think is, in the end, a reflection of performance in average during the course of the season. Ferrari simply came back stronger, and I think we maximized our points on the first half of the season as there were also some issues on Ferrari’s side.”

“Again, if you look at this P4, it is a great result because we have a great team in front of us and we also look at the teams that are behind us, we put a good gap with these teams too. The most important thing is that we made steps forward again, just looking at our own progression, that’s very positive.”

According to Seidl’s conclusions, McLaren continues upping its form and improving, but looking forward to 2022, the team won’t be suddenly fighting for the championship thanks to the regulation changes in the category.

“For next year, I’m the happiest with the stability we’ve created inside the team, but I don’t expect big changes for the packing order. A realistic picture of where we are and where we still can improve. There´s no magic in F1 nowadays. In the end, there’s a reason why such teams are in front of us.”