Now that the Formula 1 circus will take a month-long break, there will be plenty of time to thoroughly analyze what has been achieved so far and, above all, to find development paths to become more competitive in May at Miami. Among the teams that can benefit most from this extended forced stop is undoubtedly McLaren, which went from dominating races in 2025 to struggling at the start of 2026.
Team Principal Andrea Stella gives a very candid assessment of the current situation and even speaks about the factors that allowed the team to “stay in the race” during the Japanese Grand Prix. His words may seem almost out of place, given that Oscar Piastri managed to stay at the front of the pack for many laps and finished Sunday with a solid podium.
The Mercedes engine remains highly competitive
Some skeptics had speculated about “tricks” by Mercedes against their Woking rivals regarding engine usage, attributing all of McLaren’s issues to the power unit. However, they likely forgot that Mercedes was also supplying engines to McLaren last year, when Andrea Stella and Zak Brown demonstrated clear superiority, not only over the team with the three-pointed star, but also over most other competitors on the grid. Toto Wolff even joked, saying something along the lines of “if I had known they would be faster than us, I wouldn’t have supplied them with the Power Units.” It is therefore evident that the problem could not lie solely with the engine or its use.
Indeed, Stella emphasized in his analysis of the Japanese Grand Prix: “We can make the most of the power unit’s potential, which allowed us to be closer in qualifying and, I believe, also in the race compared to Ferrari and Mercedes. I think here [in Japan] we were on par with Ferrari. Looking at the race overlaps, you can see that Ferrari still has some advantage in the corners. Their car is definitely capable of generating more grip than ours. However, I believe we benefit from an overall more competitive power unit. From this point of view, HPP [Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains] has done an excellent job in terms of overall PU competitiveness.”
Analyzing the difficulties to find a solution
If the problem is not the engine, why can’t McLaren match Mercedes’ performance? According to the team principal: “Another important factor is that there was no graining at Suzuka. In previous races, such as in Australia and the sprint in China, we noticed that when graining appeared on the front tires, we seemed slightly more susceptible compared to Ferrari and Mercedes.” This is a new issue compared to the 2025 season, when McLaren experienced almost imperceptible tire wear relative to rivals. At Suzuka, however, the tire problem was reduced and, combined with a series of factors, it gave Piastri and Lando Norris slightly better opportunities. Among these factors emerges the chassis issue.
“On this asphalt [at Suzuka], the grip is very high,” Stella continued. “I think it is an advantage if the chassis does not deliver exceptional performance. As I said before, I believe Mercedes and Ferrari achieve better results [than us]. Overall, it is good news, but it does not change our objective. We need to improve the performance of our chassis.”
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