McLaren is preparing a potentially more substantial MCL40 upgrade for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after beginning another important phase of its development programme in Hungary. Technical Director – Applied Engineering Neil Houldey has explained how the team overcame the car’s initial excess weight, improved its understanding of the Mercedes power unit and identified further areas in which performance can still be unlocked.
The summer break has arrived at an important point in McLaren’s 2026 Formula 1 season. The first part of a significant upgrade package appeared at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where the redesigned MCL40 helped Lando Norris deliver the team’s first victory of the new regulatory era.
That aerodynamic progress has been accompanied by a better understanding of the Mercedes power unit. McLaren began the season with a notable performance deficit compared with the Mercedes works team. Although the difference has not disappeared completely, it has been reduced as the Woking engineers have learned how to recover, manage and deploy electrical energy more effectively.
McLaren MCL40 started from a solid base but required further development
According to Neil Houldey, the MCL40 was based on sound fundamental design decisions, even though its level of development at launch was not as advanced as McLaren had hoped.
“The launch car was a good starting point,” Neil Houldey said. “We made the correct decisions regarding the main concepts, the layout and the elements that would remain fixed throughout the season, such as the suspension geometry.”
However, part of McLaren’s early deficit was a consequence of decisions made during the previous campaign. The team continued developing its 2025 car for longer as it pursued the Drivers’ Championship, while some rivals were able to begin work on their 2026 projects at an earlier stage.
“It probably was not as quick as we would have liked,” Neil Houldey admitted. “Part of that came from the decisions we made in 2025 to make sure we secured the Drivers’ Championship, while other teams began developing their 2026 cars earlier. That left us having to catch up during the first few races.”
McLaren had to remove excess weight before the opening race
Neil Houldey also confirmed information that emerged during pre-season testing: the original MCL40 was slightly above Formula 1’s minimum weight limit.
“We were a little overweight when the car was launched, and we had to dedicate time and resources to bringing it down to the regulatory minimum before the first race,” Neil Houldey explained. “Naturally, that took resources away from performance development.”
Weight remains a particularly sensitive subject for Formula 1 teams. A car that is too heavy creates an obvious performance disadvantage, but building one substantially below the limit can also indicate that its potential has not been fully exploited.
“There is no need to be significantly below the weight limit because a very light car probably means that you are not maximising its performance,” Neil Houldey said. “Reaching that target is a complicated exercise because it requires considerable forecasting and calculations from the engineers regarding every component.”
McLaren nevertheless achieved its original objective. Once the team had completed the Barcelona test and assessed the first physical components, it was able to determine where material could safely be removed and where additional reinforcement was required.
“We knew that after the Barcelona test we would identify where material could be taken away and where it needed to be added,” Neil Houldey continued. “In the end, we reached the minimum weight by the first race, which was our target.”
Why McLaren cars retain similar characteristics across different eras
Neil Houldey also addressed the distinctive DNA that Formula 1 cars from the same team can retain over several seasons, even after major technical regulation changes.
“We cannot give ourselves a definitive answer either,” he admitted. “Sometimes it depends on what the drivers request, while in other cases it comes from how you develop the car in the wind tunnel or through CFD. That can mean certain characteristics remain even across different cars and different years.”
During the season, McLaren progressively expanded its understanding of the MCL40 and found performance in areas that were initially less clear. From an aerodynamic perspective, the principal development targets included the front wing, rear wing, floor and bodywork.
The work culminated in the important Hungary package, whose scale also attracted the attention of Mercedes. Simone Resta acknowledged that the redesigned McLaren floor represented a major upgrade and must have contributed to the team’s performance breakthrough.
Floor and tyre understanding unlocked more MCL40 performance
Among the areas that delivered the largest benefits were developments around the floor. McLaren improved its understanding of the value provided by components such as the floorboard and the spat area immediately ahead of the rear wheels.
Those elements can be developed during a season without requiring a complete redesign of the main floor structure, making them valuable opportunities for efficient performance gains.
“Aerodynamically, we already knew that we would work on the front wing, rear wing, floor and bodywork,” Neil Houldey explained. “The team was rewarded by finding performance in precisely those areas.”
“We developed a better understanding of the value of certain components, such as the floorboard and the spat area, which can be evolved during the season without changing the main floor.”
Tyre behaviour has been another crucial element in McLaren’s progress. The team has learned more about the heating and cooling requirements of the compounds, and that information has influenced some of the aerodynamic and mechanical updates introduced during the campaign.
The combination of the new floor, improved tyre management and a suitable set-up helped Lando Norris produce what he described as one of his best Formula 1 drives in Hungary.
McLaren still wants to make the MCL40 easier to drive
Despite its recent progress, Neil Houldey does not believe the MCL40 has yet expressed its full potential. Feedback from Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri indicates that the car remains difficult to drive consistently at the limit.
“The drivers have provided us with very useful information because the car is still not easy to drive,” Neil Houldey said. “We can increase the overall aerodynamic load, but above all we can make the performance easier to extract in both qualifying and the race.”
Improving driveability is particularly important under a completely new set of regulations. Even when a development adds theoretical downforce, its value can be limited if the drivers cannot access that performance confidently and consistently across different circuits and conditions.
McLaren plans further MCL40 upgrades before and after Baku
The MCL40 development programme will continue after the summer shutdown. McLaren expects to introduce smaller updates during the opening rounds of the second half of the 2026 Formula 1 calendar, followed by a potentially larger package at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.
“We have smaller updates planned for the next few races and then potentially something more substantial for Baku,” Neil Houldey confirmed.
McLaren will then decide whether to prepare another package for the final part of the season or transfer all of its available resources to the 2027 car. The choice will depend on the aerodynamic performance discovered after the summer break and the progress made by the team’s direct rivals.
“After Baku, it will depend on how much more performance we find and whether we believe there is value in preparing another package for the end of the season or switching our complete focus to next year’s car,” Neil Houldey explained.
“The decision remains open. We will assess where we are, where our competitors are and where the opportunities exist. I believe there is a good chance that we will continue introducing upgrades beyond Baku without compromising the 2027 project.”
Those later developments are expected to consist primarily of smaller bolt-on or bonded components rather than extensive bodywork revisions. Neil Houldey nevertheless believes those areas still contain valuable performance opportunities.
McLaren seeks more performance from the Mercedes power unit
Alongside its aerodynamic programme, McLaren is continuing to improve how it uses the Mercedes power unit. The team believes further lap time can be gained through energy management and greater efficiency without making fundamental changes to the car.
“We are trying to understand the car’s behaviour better on the straights,” Neil Houldey said. “We know there is still some performance available because our maximum speeds are not always the same as Mercedes. We are working to increase aerodynamic load without introducing additional drag.”
Energy recovery and deployment have become particularly important under the 2026 power-unit regulations. McLaren has spent the opening half of the season learning how to recover more electrical energy and distribute it in the most effective way around a lap.
“During these first months, we have learned an enormous amount about how to use the power unit, recover more energy and deploy it as efficiently as possible,” Neil Houldey explained. “I believe there is still lap time to be gained in this area without any fundamental modifications.”
Mercedes, Ferrari, Audi and Honda expected to introduce PU updates
Neil Houldey does not expect power-unit development to slow during the second half of the campaign. Through Formula 1’s Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system, known as ADUO, manufacturers are expected to introduce further improvements.
“I do not believe power-unit development will slow down,” Neil Houldey concluded. “Through ADUO, we know that suppliers will introduce upgrades during the second half of the season. I expect progress from Mercedes HPP, but also from Ferrari, Audi and Honda.”
McLaren therefore enters the summer break with several complementary routes towards greater performance. The team can continue refining the MCL40 aerodynamically, make the car easier for its drivers to exploit and unlock additional speed by improving how it uses the Mercedes power unit.
After its Hungary breakthrough, McLaren’s position in the constructors’ championship may influence how long the development programme continues. The Baku package will be another important step, but the team already believes further opportunities could remain available beyond Azerbaijan without undermining preparations for 2027.
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