‘Up to McLaren to allow Sainz, Norris to shine’

Convinced Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris can be race winners, Andreas Seidl says it is up to McLaren to give them a car that allows them to prove this to the world.

Last season marked Sainz and Norris’ first season together at McLaren after the team opted for a completely new line-up.

It paid off.

Together the duo put McLaren up into ‘best of the rest’ in the Constructors’ Championship while Sainz bagged the team’s first podium in more than 2,000 days as he finished P3 at the Brazilian GP.

Speaking about his driver pairing, Seidl told Auto Motor und Sport: “From what I have seen of the two so far, I am convinced that they have the potential to be top drivers.

“Now it is important that we give them a car that they can drive fast and grow with us.

“Then they have to show that they are winning drivers.

“At the moment there is no reason to doubt them.”

McLaren announced Seidl would join them from Porsche ahead of last year’s championship with the German taking up the position of team principal in May.

Although he has yet to spend a full season at McLaren, he says he has already seen a notable change in the team’s attitude.

“McLaren has regained its racing spirit, which is the basic prerequisite for being successful in motorsport,” he added.

“With the team’s successful history, it was no wonder that it had been lost to a certain extent after the losing streak in the past four or five years.”

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