After leaving the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix with just a single point, McLaren boss Andreas Seidl is hoping his team bounces back this weekend in Italy.
McLaren now sits fourth in the constructors’ championship after Ferrari recorded a double-points finish in Zandvoort to surge ahead in the teams’ competition.
Lando Norris scored the Woking squad’s sole point last weekend in a race that saw Daniel Ricciardo home in 11th.
This weekend’s Italian Grand Prix sees a return to the Sprint Qualifying format first used at the British Grand Prix earlier in the season.
It leaves teams with just a single 60-minute practice session prior to qualifying on Friday afternoon (local time).
That leaves cars in parc ferme for Practice 2 on Saturday morning ahead of the Qualifying Sprint on Saturday afternoon with Sunday’s race to follow as normal.
“I think everyone was well prepared for the different format we have experienced in Silverstone,” Seidl said.
“It is a challenge to swap to this other format, because we all used to work to this kind of normal race weekend format for many, many years.
“It was quite a difference on the operation side but I think after seeing that we went through well as a team in Silverstone I don’t expect really big issues from that.
“The biggest challenge is simply the single free practice session you have on Friday, and then you go straight into qualifying,” he added.
“Your car is pretty much frozen.
“So the aim is clear again, with all the preparation you’re doing also back home, the simulator, to be spot on straight on the first run onwards with the car, with the setup, in order to extract the maximum from the weekend.
“For us after this challenging weekend [in Zandvoort] with going away with only one point obviously want to fight pack as a team.”
Opening practice for the Italian Grand Prix gets underway at 22:30 AEST on Friday.
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