F1 | Andrea Stella explains how McLaren can maintain competitiveness under new 2026 rules. Andrea Stella explains why McLaren is not afraid of the 2026 Formula 1 regulatory changes.

The technical revolution in 2026 does not scare McLaren
Andrea Stella is confident that McLaren’s current winning form will be an advantage when facing the major regulatory changes in Formula 1 in 2026. The team principal believes that some of the philosophies that have made McLaren so competitive this season can be carried over and applied successfully in the next.

In 2026, Formula 1 will move away from the heavy reliance on ground effect, returning to cars with flat floors and significantly reduced aerodynamic downforce. Active aerodynamics will also be introduced on the straights, helping to balance the near 50-50 split between the internal combustion engine and the much larger electric component. This regulatory overhaul is among the most significant in the sport’s history, with the goal of allowing teams that struggled in 2022 to make a major leap forward. While all teams will essentially start from scratch, this does not mean that the elements which have made McLaren so competitive over the past 18 months will suddenly become irrelevant.

Andrea Stella believes that several universal principles of McLaren’s design philosophy will remain a strength even under the 2026 regulations. “I think there are a couple of aspects that transfer, regardless of the technical rules, and I hope that gives McLaren a good position,” he told Motorsport.com. “One concerns the technical fundamentals, where we have focused on aerodynamic efficiency, tire interaction, and effective cooling. These are universal concepts.”

Technical knowledge to transfer and to reinvent
The team principal distinguishes between the know-how tied specifically to the current rules and the processes that allowed McLaren to climb the ranks so quickly. Both McLaren and its competitors are moving away from regulations that relied on downforce generated by the floor and extremely low ride heights to maximize it. Despite this, the capabilities that enabled McLaren to develop the benchmark car over the past two seasons will not disappear.

“There is a part of the technical knowledge that can be transferred to the work on 2026 and a part that must be reinvented,” Stella explained. “Right now we know how to pursue aerodynamic efficiency with this generation of cars, but it is the result of many elements, many interactions, an accumulation of knowledge. Some of this concerns the floor, which works with ground effect, strakes, and side wings. But next year’s floor will be completely different. So we have to rebuild that knowledge from scratch. From that point of view, it is not transferable.”

“But some aspects of the method, or the way in which you generate this knowledge, I believe will be transferable,” the Italian added. “So, the fundamental reasons why we are in such a strong position now, I think, are largely transferable, while part will inevitably be lost. And that will be a field where there could potentially be a leveling of the playing field among all teams, regardless of where they were in 2025.”