Andrea Stella believes McLaren can still achieve major results in the 2026 Formula 1 championship after Lando Norris’s commanding Hungarian Grand Prix victory revived hopes of a stronger second half of the season. With 12 races still to come and further MCL40 upgrades planned, the team principal has challenged McLaren to build on its Budapest breakthrough and continue filling the new trophy cabinet at the McLaren Technology Centre.
McLaren’s Constructors’ Championships in 2024 and 2025 ended a drought that had lasted 26 years. During much of that period, the historic British team endured a prolonged decline that only began to reverse after Zak Brown’s arrival and the implementation of a long-term rebuilding strategy.
McLaren responded after a difficult start to 2026
Having become one of the strongest interpreters of the previous Formula 1 regulations alongside Red Bull, McLaren entered 2026 facing a very different challenge: proving it could remain at the front after one of the largest technical resets in the championship’s history.
The beginning of the season was difficult, but McLaren gradually recovered. The team worked through the weaknesses of the MCL40 and ended the first half of the campaign with a convincing victory at the Hungaroring, establishing itself as the third force in the championship.
That performance was the culmination of a wider technical recovery, with the development work behind McLaren’s Hungary breakthrough finally producing a package capable of challenging at the front.
Andrea Stella still believes McLaren can fight for the championship
Andrea Stella wants to use the Hungarian result as the starting point for a renewed attempt to chase a third consecutive Constructors’ Championship. As recently reported by GPblog, the Italian remains confident about what McLaren can achieve during the second half of the season.
“If we can continue the season as we did in Budapest, I think we can still achieve great results,” Andrea Stella said. “To do that, we have to continue pushing the development of the MCL40 and make sure that we beat our rivals in the upgrade race.”
The scale of McLaren’s latest step has already attracted attention elsewhere in the paddock. Mercedes was surprised by the size of the MCL40 package introduced in Hungary, where the Woking team finally converted its development progress into a Grand Prix victory.
Baku set to become next major step in MCL40 development
McLaren has a busy development programme planned for the remainder of the season, with Baku expected to become the next major focal point. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is set to feature the team’s next larger and more ambitious evolutionary step following the package that performed so well in Budapest.
Smaller developments are also expected around the larger packages as McLaren attempts to maintain the momentum it has generated. The team knows that Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull will continue developing their own cars, meaning the effectiveness of every new component could influence the competitive order during the closing months of the championship.
Andrea Stella is therefore refusing to rule anything out.
“There are still 12 races on the calendar, so there are plenty of opportunities, considering that there are still 546 points available,” he said. “Of course, the gap in both championships is significant, but we remember the lesson from last year very well.”
The remaining rounds on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar give McLaren time to establish whether Budapest represented a circuit-specific high point or the beginning of a sustained return to the front.
Stella wants McLaren’s new trophy cabinet filled
McLaren’s resurgence over recent seasons has already forced the team to make room for the trophies collected during its return to championship-winning form. Andrea Stella has now turned that symbol of recent success into motivation for the final part of 2026.
“I always tell the team that, if we have installed a new trophy cabinet at the McLaren Technology Centre to house the trophies we have won recently, then we have a duty to do everything possible to keep filling it.”
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri still face a significant challenge if McLaren is to recover enough ground in the championship, with both drivers also chasing rivals ahead of them in the 2026 Formula 1 driver standings.
The immediate question is whether the McLaren seen at the Hungaroring will become the version of the team that appears consistently during the second half of the season. If the MCL40’s development continues at the same rate, the reigning Constructors’ champions have no intention of abandoning their title ambitions without a fight.
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