Andreas Seidl says he feels "very satisfied" with how development is progressing on McLaren's car for the 2022 Formula 1 season. With a raft of new regulations coming into effect for the upcoming year, Seidl admits that it is difficult for the design and engineering team to set precise targets for what they hope to achieve, given the lack of prior reference points. However, the Team Principal wants the squad to still have ambitious goals. "[It is difficult to set concrete objectives] because you have absolutely no reference," Seidl told Formel1.de , as quoted by Motorsport-Total.com . "Nevertheless, you naturally try to set yourself ambitious but also realistic goals as a team."
2022 F1 car "responding to developments"
Despite the difficulty of having very little prior reference, Seidl is pleased with what he has seen so far in terms of progression on the team's 2022 car. "From my point of view, I am very satisfied with the development I see at the moment," Seidl explained. "The car is responding to the developments. We are really making progress week-by-week in the wind tunnel. How much it will be worth in the end, we will only really see at the first qualifying in Bahrain next year." McLaren lost out on P3 in the 2021 Constructors' Championship following their season-long battle with Ferrari, and Seidl is reluctant to set a specific target of where the Woking-based squad hope to finish this season. "For me, the most important thing is simply that the development of this car is again a step forward compared to the developments in recent years," he said.
Progress displayed in 2021
They might have dropped from third place in 2020 to fourth in 2021, but Seidl feels that McLaren "still managed to make a step forward with the car", and remains hopeful that they can continue the upward trajectory that they have displayed in recent years. "We really did a major reset in the team more than two years ago in terms of organisation and structure," Seidl added. "I am absolutely convinced that we have all the talent on board that we need to take the next steps. "Now we simply need time, we have to work together every day, we have to learn together from things that may not have gone ideally and grow from that."
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