F1, McLaren has lost the advantage that made it a world champion
McLaren’s 2026 Formula 1 campaign has revealed unexpected difficulties in technical development, a sharp contrast to the outstanding progress the Woking team made over the previous two seasons. The reigning Constructors’ Champions are finding it increasingly difficult to unlock the full potential of their latest upgrades and are no longer setting the technical benchmark, instead drawing inspiration from successful concepts introduced by Ferrari.
So, what has happened to the Woking-based team?
McLaren falls behind in the development race with the MCL40
McLaren’s 2026 challenger has shown flashes of impressive competitiveness throughout the current Formula 1 season, but those performances have been far too inconsistent. It is a trend that has become increasingly evident.
Alongside Mercedes, McLaren entered the new regulatory era as one of the favourites to dominate the championship. Instead, the campaign has delivered far less than many expected from the historic British team.
At the heart of the issue lies one crucial factor: car development.
In the first season under Formula 1’s new technical regulations, the ability to evolve a car’s aerodynamic concepts has become more important than ever. Teams capable of introducing successful upgrades—and doing so before their rivals—can gain a decisive competitive advantage.
Ferrari has become one of the clearest examples of this approach, introducing innovative solutions across several areas of the SF-26 and establishing new technical trends throughout the paddock.
Ironically, McLaren’s ability to interpret the regulations and consistently translate development work into on-track performance had previously been one of the team’s greatest strengths. During its back-to-back Constructors’ Championship campaigns, the team rarely introduced an upgrade that failed to deliver measurable gains.
For two consecutive seasons, McLaren hardly missed with a single update—an extraordinary achievement.
In 2026, however, the picture has changed. The MCL40 has certainly improved over the opening months of the season, but nowhere near the remarkable success rate that became synonymous with McLaren’s championship-winning resurgence, which began in Miami in 2024.
The MCL40 adopts Ferrari-inspired floor inlet concepts
The reasons become clearer when analysing the team’s latest technical developments.
For example, the revised front wing introduced three Grands Prix ago has yet to fully convince. Meanwhile, the latest bargeboard update brought to Silverstone represents a hybrid solution that combines concepts from the original pre-season specification with ideas introduced in the first upgrade package. Interestingly, several technical features appear to have been simplified or revised in an apparent attempt to correct earlier development choices.
Another major area of development focuses on the entrance to the floor, a section where McLaren had already adopted a concept strongly inspired by Ferrari, implementing a solution that closely resembles the one first seen on the SF-26.
For the British Grand Prix, however, the technical group led by Rob Marshall attempted to evolve that concept further.
One obvious change is that the horizontal vane no longer separates eight individual flow channels, as the vertical fences previously positioned in the upper section have now disappeared. At the same time, the trailing edge of the horizontal vane has become significantly larger.
The objective is relatively straightforward: strengthen the airflow while keeping it attached to the car for as long as possible, ultimately generating greater and more controllable levels of downforce.
McLaren tries to recreate the SF-26’s rear aerodynamic effect
Another area where McLaren has followed Ferrari’s lead—along with much of the Formula 1 grid—is around the rear of the car.
However, this is one area where technical convergence meets an obstacle that appears impossible to overcome.
The team led by Andrea Stella cannot faithfully replicate Ferrari‘s aerodynamic concepts around the exhaust because of an intrinsic design limitation imposed by FIA regulations and by the more rearward differential position chosen during the original design phase of the MCL40.
Following a broader trend across Formula 1, McLaren introduced a small aerodynamic appendage near the exhaust outlet to increase the aerodynamic effect generated by the exhaust gases. The car also features sculpted channels alongside the deformable crash structure that guide airflow towards a series of dedicated aerodynamic winglets.
These winglets are divided into multiple sections to create a blowing slot and are angled upwards to generate an upwash effect. The objective is to energise the airflow and increase rear downforce, although only part of Ferrari’s concept can actually be replicated.
Ultimately, copying and chasing rivals is rarely the ideal technical strategy. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why McLaren has struggled far more than expected to establish itself at the front of the Formula 1 field during the 2026 season.
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