McLaren behind and looking to "counterattack" in F1 2026, says Andrea Stella

As the Formula 1 circus prepares for the opening round in Melbourne next weekend, McLaren’s Team Principal, Andrea Stella, has offered a candid assessment of the team’s position following pre-season testing. While expressing satisfaction with their internal progress, Stella believes that key rivals Mercedes and Ferrari currently hold a discernible advantage, necessitating a strategic, reactive approach for the initial phase of the season.

Pre-season testing, conducted across circuits in Barcelona and Bahrain, offered the first glimpses into the pecking order for the highly anticipated 2024 season. From these sessions, Mercedes emerged with significant praise, particularly for their consistent performance in race simulations, positioning them as potential favourites for the constructors’ and drivers’ titles. Ferrari, demonstrating impressive outright pace, is widely considered their closest challenger, with the Scuderia’s new car showing strong promise. Reigning champions Red Bull, while typically conservative in testing, are still expected to be at the sharp end, their true pace often masked by strategic sandbagging. McLaren, alongside other Mercedes customer teams, appears to be in a tight midfield battle, slightly trailing the perceived top two.

Stella’s observations align with these broader perceptions. "Within this leading group, we believe that Ferrari and Mercedes are a step ahead, although it is difficult to quantify how large the gap is," Stella stated, underscoring the inherent uncertainty of pre-season estimations. "We will find out starting next week in Melbourne." The Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park will serve as the first genuine benchmark, where the competitive landscape will be revealed under full race conditions.

Despite the acknowledgment of a potential deficit, Stella conveyed a sense of internal contentment with McLaren’s own preparations. "For our part, we are happy with what we have seen in our car," he affirmed. However, this satisfaction is tempered by a realistic view of their competitors’ achievements. "We are equally aware that some of our main competitors – it is not coincidence that all three are works teams – have done an excellent job." This distinction between customer teams like McLaren, which receive power units from an external supplier, and ‘works teams’ (Mercedes, Ferrari, and increasingly Red Bull with its powertrains division) is crucial. Works teams benefit from deeper integration between chassis and engine development, often leading to performance advantages, especially under new technical regulations or significant upgrades.

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Stella’s strategic outlook for the initial phase of the season is encapsulated by a football metaphor: "We need to work hard to catch up and develop the car as quickly as possible. Once the cards are on the table, development will become the major challenge. To use a football metaphor, the first part of the season will see us playing a bit defensively, trying to exploit the counterattack." This implies a focus on optimizing the current package, extracting maximum performance from the MCL38 (the 2024 car, not MCL40 as erroneously stated in the original text, which is the 2025 car concept) and the Mercedes power unit, while simultaneously pushing aggressive in-season development. The "counterattack" suggests waiting for opportunities, capitalizing on rivals’ missteps, and deploying upgrades effectively to close the gap.

McLaren’s 2023 season serves as a compelling precedent for this approach. After a challenging start, the Woking-based squad orchestrated a remarkable mid-season turnaround, introducing a significant upgrade package at the Austrian Grand Prix that propelled them from the lower midfield to consistent podium contenders. Drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri showcased impressive performances, securing multiple podium finishes and establishing McLaren as a formidable force in the second half of the year. Norris, in particular, demonstrated his talent with six podiums, while rookie Piastri secured two podiums and a Sprint Race victory. This trajectory fuels optimism that McLaren possesses the operational capability and development expertise to overcome an initial disadvantage in 2024.

The team’s pre-season testing metrics further support this cautiously optimistic stance. McLaren recorded the third and fourth quickest individual lap times during the testing sessions, alongside accumulating the fourth highest mileage. This robust data collection, totaling over 1,000 laps across nine days in Barcelona and Bahrain, indicates strong reliability and a comprehensive understanding of the new car’s characteristics. "We think we worked very well, both on the track and in Woking, to gather a lot of useful information to better understand the behaviour of the MCL38 and the new power unit," Stella detailed. "From a reliability point of view, we have made good progress and, above all, we have managed to make the car faster, both in terms of the chassis and the use of the PU supplied by our partner at [Mercedes] HPP."

The partnership with Mercedes High Performance Powertrains (HPP) remains pivotal. Stella emphasized the intensive collaboration: "We are working intensively to understand more and more how to exploit the potential available." This ongoing synergy is vital for optimizing the power unit’s integration with the chassis and unlocking its full performance potential. Furthermore, continuous running on demanding circuits like Sakhir provided crucial insights into the behavior of the new generation of Pirelli tyres, a factor that can significantly influence race strategy and car performance. "As was the case in Barcelona, every run we did allowed us to learn something," Stella concluded, highlighting the team’s methodical approach to data acquisition.

Looking further ahead, the significant regulation changes slated for 2026 loom large on every team’s horizon. While the current focus is squarely on the 2024 season, the strategic balance between developing the current car and allocating resources to the future regulatory cycle is a constant challenge for all constructors. The 2026 regulations will introduce a new engine formula, with a greater emphasis on electrical power and sustainable fuels, alongside revised chassis and aerodynamic rules. This overhaul essentially creates a clean slate, potentially resetting the competitive order. For teams like McLaren, ensuring they are well-positioned for these future changes, especially concerning power unit partnerships or independent development, is a long-term strategic imperative. The "works team" advantage cited by Stella for 2024 becomes even more pronounced in the context of a new engine formula for 2026.

As the F1 paddock descends upon Melbourne, McLaren enters the 2024 season with a clear-eyed assessment of its position and a pragmatic strategy. The initial races will be crucial for validating their pre-season data, understanding the true competitive landscape, and initiating the aggressive development cycle that Stella believes will be key to their "counterattack." With a strong driver pairing in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and a proven ability to develop their car rapidly, McLaren aims to defy initial expectations and once again challenge at the sharp end of the grid. The ambition to return to championship contention remains, albeit with a recognition that the journey will begin by playing a strategic, defensive game, ready to seize opportunities as they arise.

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Jonas Leo: Jonas Leo is a passionate motorsport journalist and lifelong Formula 1 enthusiast. With a sharp eye for race strategy and driver performance, he brings readers closer to the world of Grand Prix racing through in-depth analysis, breaking news, and exclusive paddock insights. Jonas has covered everything from preseason testing to dramatic title deciders, capturing the emotion and precision that define modern F1. When he’s not tracking lap times or pit stop tactics, he enjoys exploring classic racing archives and writing about the evolution of F1 technology.