Formula One 2021 season preview

McLaren Racing

Team partners & suppliers

British American Tobacco, Dell Technologies, Arrow Electronics, Splunk, Gulf Oil, Richard Mille, Cisco Webex, Hilton, CNBC, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Miory Steel, Garena, FxPro, Klipsch, Deloitte, Tumi, Iqoniq, AkzoNobel, Mind, Sparco, Logitech, Buzz, FAI Aviation, Ashurst, Pirelli, Volvo, Mazak, Marelli, Enkei, Stratasys, Kaust, Hookit, Huski Chocolate, Alienware, New Era & Ultimotive Group.

Team Principal & Drivers

Andreas Seidl

Andreas Seidl, Team Principal, McLaren

Daniel Ricciardo

Lando Norris

Lando Norris portrait - left hand side

Now here is an interesting one for me to talk about, a team who had their worst seasons on record during the era of the Honda engine, then came the Renault engine and the team found themselves on the podium once more.

It’s a great story and one in which their hoards of fans got excited again. They finished 3rd last season, they had a happy pair of teammates in Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, always joking around and the whole place seemed full of harmony, but that was broken up when Ferrari signed Carlos Sainz and McLaren knocked on the door of Renault and took on Daniel Ricciardo.

Who was that a good swap for? McLaren I think. Carlos Sainz is a brilliant racer but put Daniel Ricciardo in a winning car and he will get you wins, he proved that at Red Bull. What else is there going on at McLaren? Hmmm oh yes, they weren’t satisfied with finishing 3rd, so they discarded the Renault engine that gave them their most successful season during the hybrid era and instead went for the fastest engine on the grid, a Mercedes power block.

All of us at McLaren are ready and determined for another season of intensely competitive Formula 1 racing. The entire team has worked hard over the short winter, together with our colleagues from Mercedes-AMG, to produce the MCL35M and provide a strong car for our drivers to race this year.

Andreas Seidl
Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team

So are McLaren back where they belong? Oh yes, they are, and if they have improved the chassis, even more, this season then watch out for Mercedes and Red Bull, McLaren Mercedes are on their way back to the top.

They have a dream team driver line up, probably together with one of the most promising drivers on the grid, mixed with the experience of Daniel Ricciardo. This is a recipe for success. Will they win the championship? Unlikely, but they are going to become a regular feature on the podium this season and in some races will push the big two all the way. In my mind, they are the team who are most likely to have a trick up their sleeve this season, something that no one else has thought of to grab back that downforce lost in the regulations.

Underestimate McLaren at your peril, that’s all I will say. But, and there is a big but, there are other midfield teams that might have something to say about that, including the newly named Aston Martin.




There are no comments

Add yours