McLaren’s MCL40 upgrades appear to have unlocked a significant share of the car’s potential at the Hungarian Grand Prix, completing a development programme that began with earlier packages in Austria and Britain. The changes were not visually dramatic, but they formed a coherent aerodynamic chain running from the front wing to the rear corner, diffuser and engine cover.
The improvement was particularly important after a difficult start to the season for the reigning world champions. Problems extracting the full potential of the new Mercedes power unit, combined with electrical issues that cost the team valuable points, had prevented McLaren from consistently demonstrating one of its traditional strengths: exceptional tyre management.
Andrea Stella is someone who must be taken extremely seriously, especially when the McLaren team principal discusses future upgrades. The Italian engineer’s previous assessments have often provided an accurate indication of what was happening behind the scenes at Woking.
Andrea Stella’s development record gives McLaren confidence
In 2023, the MCL60 began its life as a fundamentally flawed car. Andrea Stella acknowledged the problems, explained that McLaren understood where it had gone wrong and promised decisive upgrades around the middle of the season.
The package introduced in Austria transformed the papaya car, providing the foundations upon which McLaren subsequently built its 2024 and 2025 Constructors’ Championships. That turnaround remains an important reference point whenever Stella offers an encouraging assessment of the team’s development work.
The current season, however, began as an uphill struggle for the reigning champions. Beyond the power-unit and electrical difficulties, the MCL40 probably entered the campaign as an immature design. Its development had been slowed by McLaren’s battle with Red Bull until the final race of 2025 and by the reduced aerodynamic testing time imposed on the team that finishes first in the championship.
Against that background, the McLaren breakthrough at the Hungarian Grand Prix represented more than an isolated strong weekend. It offered an initial indication that the latest development programme had begun to produce the intended results.
McLaren MCL40 upgrades complete an aerodynamic chain
The upgrade package introduced in Hungary completed the work already started in Austria and Britain. Andrea Stella had described the latest intervention as “encouraging”, and the scale of the changes across the car helps explain his optimism.
Although the revisions to the MCL40’s aerodynamic bodywork were not especially conspicuous, they affected almost every important area of the car. Rather than operating as isolated components, the new parts followed a logical aerodynamic chain, beginning at the front and moving rearwards with the airflow.
The reversible wing will deliberately be excluded from this analysis because it did not contribute to McLaren’s success. The component was tested only during free practice before being removed for qualifying and the race.
Revised front wing reshapes airflow along the MCL40
The front wing was revised primarily around its upper profile. The new version features a more uniform shape across its width, whereas the previous specification had a much broader chord at the outer extremities than in the central section.
Any change to the front wing inevitably influences the airflow reaching every component positioned further downstream. McLaren therefore revised both the floor’s leading edge and the complex array of aerodynamic elements behind the front wheels to ensure those areas worked effectively with the new front-wing characteristics.
At the floor entrance, the vertical fences responsible for generating vortical structures were redesigned. These vortices help reinforce the low-pressure area beneath the floor, while the accompanying horizontal surface is responsible for guiding air into the underfloor as efficiently as possible.
The bargeboard changes seen in Hungary were distinguished mainly by the more elaborate shape of the forward vertical elements positioned closest to the front tyre. Their presumed role is to divert outwards the turbulent airflow created by the rotating wheels, reducing its disruptive influence on the rest of the car.
Floor-edge changes target rear tyre turbulence
The next link in McLaren’s aerodynamic chain can be found in front of the rear wheels. The complex interaction between the rotating tyres, the track surface and this critical section of the floor has challenged designers across the Formula 1 grid, and the Woking team is no exception.
McLaren revised the slots along the floor edge, with their influence now beginning further forward. The deeper channels are intended to draw air from the floor’s upper surface before directing it outwards and downwards.
The ultimate objective is to clear away the turbulent region affected by tyre squirt. This phenomenon occurs when the rotating rear tyre deforms against the track and pushes turbulent air towards the low-pressure region beneath the car, potentially compromising the floor and diffuser’s ability to generate consistent downforce.
To make the interaction between the tyre and the floor less chaotic, McLaren also redesigned the cascade of curved aerodynamic elements forming the diffuser’s outer section. Each change supports the next, helping the airflow retain greater consistency as it travels towards the rear of the car.
McLaren redesigns the MCL40’s rear corner
In this highly sensitive area, McLaren’s engineers revised the entire rear corner. This term covers the complete assembly around the inner face of the wheel, including the brake ducts and, in many cases, the suspension mounting points.
The shape of the outlet used to release the hot air that cools the braking system was modified, along with the dense arrangement of winglets immediately beneath it. These concave aerodynamic elements are not designed primarily to create downforce. Instead, their purpose is to condition the airflow correctly while working in conjunction with the adjacent floor, diffuser and wheel assemblies.
These revisions helped complete an extensive package whose effectiveness was reflected in McLaren’s Hungarian Grand Prix performance. The weekend also demonstrated how closely aerodynamic consistency and tyre behaviour are connected under the current regulations.
Tighter engine cover reduces the MCL40’s drag
The final major area of development was the engine cover, which now hugs the internal mechanical components much more closely and features smaller hot-air outlets.
The shapes used during the opening part of the season had been rather surprising when compared with McLaren’s previous cars. In recent years, the Woking machines had consistently featured some of the tightest bodywork on the grid, allowing the team to benefit from reduced aerodynamic drag.
Packaging the engine cover more tightly again suggests McLaren has gained the confidence to reduce its cooling outlets while improving the external airflow towards the rear of the car. The approach differs from the high-downforce compromise that affected Ferrari’s straight-line performance in Hungary.
Why McLaren’s Hungary progress could matter after the break
The complete MCL40 upgrade package appears to have produced excellent results, although aerodynamic development was not the only factor behind McLaren’s performance. For several seasons, the team has excelled at tyre management, but that strength had remained less visible during the first part of the championship.
It re-emerged in Hungary when energy availability and the associated management demands temporarily stopped being limiting factors. Under those conditions, McLaren was again able to exploit its ability to protect the tyres while maintaining competitive pace, contributing to a victory that Lando Norris later ranked among his best Formula 1 performances.
The coming rounds will reveal whether Andrea Stella and his colleagues at Woking have once again struck the right balance with the MCL40’s development. If the Hungary package proves effective across circuits with different characteristics, McLaren could make the fight for the leading positions considerably more competitive during the remainder of the season.
Its impact on the wider championship picture can be followed through the updated 2026 Formula 1 driver standings.
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