Formula 1 is currently on pause due to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, which has forced the sport’s leadership to cancel the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix (although discussions are ongoing about potentially moving the Jeddah race to the end of the season). The 2025 world champion team has started the season with some difficulties, even failing to start either car in China. Although McLaren showed in Japan that it can fight for strong positions, with Oscar Piastri finishing second after spending a significant part of the race at the front of the field. Racing will now resume in early May in Miami, an event that, despite being a Sprint weekend, will be crucial as all top teams will bring major upgrade packages.
Stella: “We are at a disadvantage compared to Ferrari and Mercedes because…”
The McLaren team principal first explained the issues faced by the Woking-based team in the early stages of the 2026 season. “The first part of the season has presented some difficulties, essentially for two reasons. The first is that it took longer than expected to fully learn how to exploit the potential offered by the power unit. In addition, we have encountered several reliability issues in this area, which have had a significant impact not only on results, but also on the pace of our learning process.”
It is worth remembering that the MCL40 is powered by a Mercedes unit, with the Anglo-German partnership clearly holding an advantage, something that has been evident in the opening races. “The second reason is that the design phase of the MCL40 was influenced both by the fact that we were still fighting for the championship until the final race of 2025, and by a different design approach. Specifically, we wanted to ensure that the launch version of the car would be a solid foundation for development. As we know, there is still a long way to go under the new 2026 regulations. For this reason, we are at a disadvantage compared to rivals such as Mercedes and Ferrari, who arrived at the first round of the season better prepared than us.”
This explains McLaren’s early-season gap, although Stella also highlighted positive aspects. “The first, let me say, is the character shown by the team and drivers, in line with what we saw in 2025 when we won both titles. Once again, we faced difficulties in a united and cohesive way, both internally and with our Mercedes HPP partners. In addition, in Suzuka we saw the first signs of progress, where we secured our first podium of the season thanks to Oscar’s second place. At the same time, we have also noticed that the car’s development rate looks very promising. There is still work to do on reliability and performance optimisation, but I believe we have taken a step in the right direction.”
It is also worth noting that the MCL40 is currently slightly overweight, and the Miami upgrades are expected to help address this issue and unlock valuable performance gains.
The McLaren upgrade plan
“Our winter plans already included that the North American races in May, first Miami and then Montreal, would see the introduction of the first upgrades to the car compared to the original version, which has essentially been on track since the Bahrain tests. We plan to introduce a full aerodynamic package, which will be implemented gradually between the two Grands Prix.”
One of the challenges in Miami is the Sprint format, meaning teams will only have one free practice session instead of the usual three. Andrea Stella underlined this as an important factor not to underestimate. “It will not be easy to introduce these updates across two Sprint weekends, given the limited time available for any comparative testing with just one hour of free practice each weekend, but we are confident that what we bring to the track will deliver the performance we expect. That said, the other ten teams have had the same opportunity to develop their packages. I do not expect major changes in the hierarchy, but we aim to reduce the performance gap to the leaders in the coming races.”
Stella therefore does not expect significant shifts in performance order, although surprises are always possible at this stage of a new regulation cycle, when development potential remains wide open in all directions.
The Woking team principal also admitted he is not surprised to be behind Mercedes in the early phase of the season. “It was a plausible scenario from the beginning that those who had the opportunity to design both the car and the power unit simultaneously could have an advantage, especially in the early stages of a new regulatory framework. The choice not to be a works team has its pros and cons, but McLaren’s results over the last two years show that a customer team can win, not only races but also championships. We have already seen recently, thinking about 2023 or 2024, that we are capable of developing the car enough to compensate even for significant performance deficits. It may take time, but we have everything we need to succeed again as a customer team.”
On Lambiase’s arrival and recent McLaren exit rumours
One of the most notable news stories during this April break was the reported arrival of Lambiase at McLaren starting in 2028, meaning he would leave Verstappen and Red Bull to join the Woking team. “His arrival will bring a great amount of expertise and long-term potential to the team. At the same time, it is further confirmation of how attractive McLaren has become for the best talent in Formula 1. Gianpiero’s arrival is the icing on the cake, a team that already has all the right ingredients. For me it will be a key support role, as Chief Racing Officer, a position I currently hold alongside Team Principal. Zak and I have built a horizontal structure, where it is essential to ensure that all leaders have the right autonomy, but at the same time we must provide the necessary long-term support. It goes without saying that with this approach, the dual role I currently hold would not be sustainable in the long term.”
Stella therefore confirmed he will not be leaving McLaren, despite speculation suggesting otherwise following Lambiase’s arrival, with some rumours even claiming the Italian would step away or that the incoming engineer could take over as team principal.
There were also suggestions of a possible return to Ferrari, but Stella dismissed these claims entirely: “Honestly, some of the recent rumours, including those about astronomical salaries and imaginary pre-contracts, made me smile. It almost feels like the ‘silly season’, which usually starts before summer, has arrived early! I’m used to it by now and I take it with a smile. It’s almost as if a jealous pastry chef tried to ruin a good dessert being prepared at McLaren’s bakery. However, we know very well how to distinguish the good ingredients from the poisoned biscuits…”
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