McLaren experienced a complicated start to the 2026 season despite a podium finish for Piastri in Japan. Andrea Stella detailed the two main factors behind this missed start.
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McLaren failed to start its 2026 F1 season with the same winning momentum as 2025. After three rounds, the British team occupies only third place in the constructors’ standings with 46 points, far from the standards expected for a reigning champion team.
The most striking scenario remains the three non-starts recorded in the first two races. Oscar Piastri was unable to start in Australia and then in China, while Lando Norris was also stopped before the start in Shanghai. In both cases, electrical failures related to the power unit prevented the single-seaters from leaving the grid, an immediate blow for McLaren.
Difficulty in exploiting the Mercedes power unit
Questioned about this contrasting start to the season, Andrea Stella pointed to a first major factor: getting to grips with the Mercedes HPP power unit. According to him, the team took longer than expected to exploit its full potential, which directly impacted performance.
“The first part of the season presented challenges for two essential reasons. First, it took longer than expected to understand how to fully exploit the potential of the power unit,” explained the McLaren director.
He also added that reliability issues not only hampered results but also overall technical progression. Added to this is a development phase disrupted by the tight schedule and constraints related to the transition to the new 2026 technical regulations.
A design influenced by the 2025 title fight
The second element identified by Stella directly concerns the design of the MCL40. McLaren extended its battle for the 2025 championships until the last race, which logically reduced the time devoted to preparing the new single-seater.
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According to him, this context pushed the team to favor a solid technical base rather than an immediately optimized car. An approach deemed cautious but necessary in a period of major regulatory changes.
“The design of the MCL40 was influenced by the fact that we continued to fight for the championship until the last race in 2025, as well as by a different design approach,” he specified.
Encouraging signs despite the difficult start
Despite this complicated start, McLaren refuses to give in to pessimism. Oscar Piastri’s podium at the Japanese Grand Prix, with a solid second place at Suzuka, showed a first sign of recovery. The Australian had even seemed capable of playing for victory before the safety car intervention.
Stella also insists on the team’s cohesion and the quality of internal work, believing that the momentum remains strong despite the difficulties. He also emphasizes that the first evolutions of the single-seater suggest interesting potential for the rest of the season.
Even if reliability and performance optimization remain priority areas, McLaren believes it has laid the foundations for gradual progress against Mercedes and Ferrari, deemed more ready at the start of the season.
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