McLaren believe F1 pecking order "difficult" to read after brace of street races

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl believes it is impossible to declare a concrete pecking order after the recent pair of street races shook up the F1 pack.

Before grands prix in Monaco and Azerbaijan, Mercedes held a 29-point advantage over Red Bull with third-placed McLaren enjoying a five-point margin over Ferrari.

But following those two races, the order has changed as Red Bull leads Mercedes by 26 points, while Ferrari is four points clear of McLaren.

Asked if he hoped the picture would revert back again at the 'more normal' French Grand Prix layout at Paul Ricard, Seidl quipped: “I hope so!"

He added: "It’s still difficult to judge. Everybody is still developing the car as well.

"Everybody is also still understanding their cars better and better and therefore it is difficult to draw any conclusions from earlier races in the season in terms of the pecking order on specific tracks.

“So I simply think it is difficult to say."

McLaren closer to Red Bull

Seidl has made no secret of McLaren's desire to again become a championship contender.

Despite falling behind Ferrari in the standings, the German is confident the team is closing the gap on Red Bull and Mercedes.

"We definitely got a lot closer to the Red Bulls and the Mercedes in front of us in terms of pace which is encouraging," added Seidl.

"These are the steps that we have to make as a team.”

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