Andrea Stella was surprised by the data collected during the F1 Australian Grand Prix: Mercedes outpaced McLaren on the straights, even with the same power unit. For McLaren and Stella, it was a weekend full of questions. Lando Norris had to settle for fifth place, while Oscar Piastri retired early from the race. Although on Saturday the MCL40 showed performance similar to its direct rivals, its race pace lagged behind the W17, SF-26, and RB22.
McLaren leaves Australia with plenty of questions and answers to find in the upcoming rounds of the World Championship. The reigning champions in Melbourne could do no better than fifth, which might have been sixth—or even seventh—if not for Red Bull’s setbacks: Isack Hadjar’s retirement and Max Verstappen’s Saturday crash. It’s clear that something is missing from the MCL40, yet Andrea Stella remains confident.
Stella believes the car can catch up with the right development
The Woking team principal is convinced that, with the proper development path, the car can improve and close the gap to its rivals. There are two key areas to focus on: the chassis, particularly cornering speed, and the understanding of the power unit.
Stella: “It will take a few races before major updates”
“The gaps we saw today are not very different from what we observed in qualifying,” explains the Italian engineer. “Performance has to come from two distinct areas. One is how we use the power unit, and the other is cornering grip. We are still a bit puzzled by the difference in data between the speed of our car and other cars with the same engine.”
“Clearly, this means that someone else has figured out much better than us how to get the maximum out of the power unit. At the same time, we know that Mercedes is faster than us through the corners. We have clear objectives and priorities. It will take a few races before we see major updates. Meanwhile, we need to try to extract the maximum potential from our car,” concludes Andrea Stella.
The pressure will be on McLaren’s technical department to unlock the “hidden” potential of the Brixworth engine. If Mercedes has indeed found a superior software mapping or energy deployment strategy, McLaren will need to close that knowledge gap quickly to prevent the championship leaders from disappearing into the distance.
The 2026 Australian Grand Prix has therefore exposed a significant deficit in how McLaren utilizes its Mercedes Power Unit compared to the works team, prompting a period of deep data analysis in Woking to bridge the speed gap before the next major aero updates arrive.
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