Andreas Seidl was in a jubilant mood after seeing the Porsche LMP1 Team secure both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships in Sunday’s 6 Hours of Shanghai, with the achievement giving the Team Principal a little bit of relief to have taken the titles with a round to spare.
Despite setting Toyota Gazoo Racing take the victory in China, the trio of Earl Bamber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley took the second place that was more than enough to clinch the Drivers’ title, while the trio of Neel Jani, Andre Lotterer and Nick Tandy completed the podium to ensure both championships were heading to their Weissach base.
“First of all congratulations to Toyota for a strong performance in today’s race,” said Seidl on Porsche.com. “Congratulations also to Earl Bamber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley for the drivers’ championship.
“For sure it’s a sensational story to win all these titles and races three years in a row. At the same time, it was a big relief today not just for me but for the entire team that we could seal the two championships with one race remaining.”
Seidl admitted that the past few months have been difficult for the team following the announcement earlier in the campaign that the team would withdraw from the LMP1 class at the end of the season, but the focus remained and the results kept coming, ensuring a third consecutive title double.
“It was not an easy situation in recent months, especially after the announcement was made to stop after this season,” said Seidl. “But we kept everyone focussed and built up a points gap in the middle of the season. We are really happy that this worked out today.
“A big thank you to everyone back home in Weissach for the sensational work they have done again this year. A big thank you to the race team here that was delivering despite all of the pressure at each race.
“And finally, a big thank you to all six drivers. What they have done this year was sensational team work – also between the two cars. “
