Mark Webber has backed his former Porsche LMP1 boss Andreas Seidl to have a “red hot go” at turning McLaren’s ailing F1 fortunes around.
The Woking-based outfit were at the front of the grid in the 1980s but have finished no higher than sixth in the Constructor’s standings in the past four years, finishing down in ninth place in 2015 and 2017.
Former Williams star Webber thinks his former engineer Seidl is the man to restore them to their past glories after being very impressed with him when they were reunited at Porshe in the 2014 World Endurance Championship LMP1 programme.
The Australian says Seidl had no shortage of F1 paddock offers but wasn’t surprised to see him take a more challenging role rather than joining an in-form team.
“If there’s any man for the job, he’s going to give it a red hot go,” Webber told Autosport. “He’s an absolute workaholic – very, very sharp on the technical side, and great with people.
“He’s certainly one of the best I’ve worked with. “We’ve known each other since 2005. He was my engine engineer at Williams, at BMW. He was always going places.
“He’s dead excited [about the McLaren move], but he knows he’s got a task ahead. He’s had some snapshots of Formula 1 with Sauber BMW. “He was instrumental in our success with the 919 [LMP1 car].
Not just him, it was a big team, but he definitely turbocharged the results. “He’s always wanted to get back into F1. And I don’t think it was his only phone call from the paddock, to be honest. “I think he sees it as a tremendous opportunity to make a big difference.”
