2026 McLaren Mastercard F1 Team

[Ground Effect]

People need to remember that Andrea Stella did the exact same thing for Lando during his struggles last year. There are multiple articles of him defending and explaining the conflict between the MCL39's characteristics and Lando's driving style, as any good TP would do. You pick up the driver who is down and show support and belief in him. It's unfair to describe things as though we have behind the scenes knowledge. Last year the argument was McLaren were biased towards Lando, this year Andrea is an Oscar fan boy. We really don't have to do this. The real story is that Oscar finished with zero points due to reliability, which has plagued McLaren this year, nobody is focusing on that on aa technical site, instead most have become psychologists and HR (or even relationship) experts.

[Brahmal]

Sometimes I wonder if it's also a contractual issue. The whole team seems on egg shells with Oscar.

Doubt it's Oscar himself so much, rather the people around him. Mark Webber in particular strikes me as a world-class prick and absolute blockhead, who seems more interested in performative nonsense and keeping his own name in the news than actually serving Oscar's best interests. I know that he "stepped back" from trackside matters, probably at McLaren's behest, but you can bet that stuff is still going on behind the scenes.

[LionsHeart]

Nah I'll die on this hill. This car is basic(looking) as hell

Forgive me in advance, I don't know what you wrote earlier, but a former technical director named Anderson said at the beginning of the year, "Look at the new Aston Martin. It's pure Newey." And the result? The worst chassis car of the first half of the season. So, looks don't tell the whole story. Just like candy. The wrapper may be pretty and colorful, but the taste isn't so good.

I’ve never claimed the opposite. I think I have put the disclaimer more often than I should have at this point.

I don’t find the car particularly exciting to look at and in my opinion there aren’t many unique or interesting ideas that are specific to McLaren either. Never said the car would be an utter dog just because of that.

Well, as I wrote earlier, I apologize in advance. I'm happy with the car's design since the beginning of the year, especially the front wing. It looks so muscular. However, even so, the car can be efficient and fast. Perhaps by next year, cars will look more sophisticated. The technical regulations are still new.

[LionsHeart]

Oscar might not have even finished on the podium. Lewis and Max were gaining on him. His deg on the hards was horrible. People also seem to have forgotten that 2 drivers got grid penalties for him to start the race 3rd. Just a poor weekend by him which almost cost McLaren a win, mostly because Norris slid off wide in lap 1, but also because they were willing to compromise both drivers to keep the papaya rules alive.

I agree but I think Oscar was overdriving the car trying to gap Lando but he couldn't as Lando was so fast. This meant Oscar burned through his tires and compromised his race pace against cars behind. I bet if Lando stayed in P1 after lap 1 he would have won in a dominant fashion and Oscar would have a solid run to P2, never completely relaxed but still in control.

I'm quite annoyed by how driver centric many of online discussions are, this whole Oscar vs Lando story is completely stupid in my opinion. Stella doesn't have a favorite driver and would love for both to do well because it means the team is doing well.

McLaren does however need to think about how to handle situations like these. Car ahead cannot have absolute control over "undercut", what would have happened if car head wants to run super long and car behind can't match it?

Someone is working for McLaren PR department
My brother is a Williams fan since 1992, and he (i hope) is more objective than me, but he said to me: "Stella is the biggest Oscar fan, and the only thing stopping him to throw Lando under the bus is Zak. Zak is a huge Lando fan, and this is saving him."

Maybe this is right and Oscar has a huge admirer in Stella, and Lando in Zak, but imo for Lando his race pace and tyre management were the things that saved Lando almost entire period at McLaren. As someone said “Lando’s pace will always give him more options”

Totally sums up every Lando x Oscar battle. Lando could pull off Hungary 25 one stop because he had pace. Lando could manage to make “overcut” work in Hungary of all tracks where undercut is powerful because he had pace.

Agreed. Earlier today, I was about to add that Andrea is for Oscar, and Zak is for Lando. Incidentally, I only found out last year that Zak is Lando's manager. When I found out, I laughed loudly and let out a sigh of relief. Then I realized they wouldn't allow Lando to be relegated to a secondary role. There seems to be a balance here and that’s good.

Regarding Lando's pace. It's been exactly nine years since Lando tested his first Formula 1 car (2017). That was in Hungary. Back then, Lando demonstrated how quickly he can adapt to new conditions, how fast he is on a single lap, and how he can drive consistently fast while maintaining good tire condition in race mode. I was very impressed then and became a fan of his that very day. Many years have passed, and Lando is still just as fast on this track. So Lando may be right in thinking he was unrivaled here, and it's not a given that in the second half of the season there will be another track like this that suits the McLaren car and Lando personally just as well.

[Macklaren]

and it's not a given that in the second half of the season there will be another track like this that suits the McLaren car and Lando personally just as well.

Isn't it the exact opposite? This is a downforce track and was not suited to the strengths of the MCL40. Ferrari was expected to dominate here. Makes this result particularly encouraging

[venkyhere]

Btw, has there been a discussion in this thread about how the shorter gear ratios might be one of the reasons (apart from the floor & RW update) that McLaren dominated in Hungary ? very short straights, lots of traction zones, and more recharging efficiency (thus providing more deployment opportunity) with shorter gears.

[SmallSoldier]

Don’t really understand the position of some in regards to the lead driver… The lead driver should always take priority in the pit stop strategy, regardless of how, if they are leading they earned that right… Swapping places should only happen if the win is seriously at risk, but in Hungary that wasn’t really the case (at least while Piastri was in the lead)…. But once the lead driver has taken the priority in the strategy (most often than not to pit first), the driver behind should have freedom to react to that strategy (going long like Lando did last year and to an extent this year too).

A lot of bashing towards the team maintaining parity on the drivers on these type of situations, but that parity is what has enabled the Team to outscore rivals… Some Teams like Red Bull will put all of their effort behind one driver, that not always provide the best result for the Team… Having 2 drivers that are motivated will create more opportunities for higher scoring in each GP (one of the reasons McLaren won the WCC in 2024, 2 drivers going after the best result possible), at some point in time, been considered and treated as a number 2 driver and the decisions that come from that has to take a toll on driver’s confidence and motivation and this translates into lap time.

[search]

Don’t really understand the position of some in regards to the lead driver… The lead driver should always take priority in the pit stop strategy, regardless of how, if they are leading they earned that right… Swapping places should only happen if the win is seriously at risk, but in Hungary that wasn’t really the case (at least while Piastri was in the lead)…. But once the lead driver has taken the priority in the strategy (most often than not to pit first), the driver behind should have freedom to react to that strategy (going long like Lando did last year and to an extent this year too).

yeah, I totally agree. While it likely would have secured an easier win, I don't really think there should be a team order for two drivers fighting for 1st and 2nd.

It probably would have been a different story if Piastri had stayed ahead after their 2nd stop, as Antonelli was still in front at that point, and unsure to stop again.

[CjC]

Btw, has there been a discussion in this thread about how the shorter gear ratios might be one of the reasons (apart from the floor & RW update) that McLaren dominated in Hungary ? very short straights, lots of traction zones, and more recharging efficiency (thus providing more deployment opportunity) with shorter gears.

No, just slapping Stella and Oscar about for the past day and a half instead.

[trinidefender]

I agree but I think Oscar was overdriving the car trying to gap Lando but he couldn't as Lando was so fast. This meant Oscar burned through his tires and compromised his race pace against cars behind. I bet if Lando stayed in P1 after lap 1 he would have won in a dominant fashion and Oscar would have a solid run to P2, never completely relaxed but still in control.

I'm quite annoyed by how driver centric many of online discussions are, this whole Oscar vs Lando story is completely stupid in my opinion. Stella doesn't have a favorite driver and would love for both to do well because it means the team is doing well.

McLaren does however need to think about how to handle situations like these. Car ahead cannot have absolute control over "undercut", what would have happened if car head wants to run super long and car behind can't match it?

Someone is working for McLaren PR department
My brother is a Williams fan since 1992, and he (i hope) is more objective than me, but he said to me: "Stella is the biggest Oscar fan, and the only thing stopping him to throw Lando under the bus is Zak. Zak is a huge Lando fan, and this is saving him."

Maybe this is right and Oscar has a huge admirer in Stella, and Lando in Zak, but imo for Lando his race pace and tyre management were the things that saved Lando almost entire period at McLaren. As someone said “Lando’s pace will always give him more options”

Totally sums up every Lando x Oscar battle. Lando could pull off Hungary 25 one stop because he had pace. Lando could manage to make “overcut” work in Hungary of all tracks where undercut is powerful because he had pace.

Agreed. Earlier today, I was about to add that Andrea is for Oscar, and Zak is for Lando. Incidentally, I only found out last year that Zak is Lando's manager. When I found out, I laughed loudly and let out a sigh of relief. Then I realized they wouldn't allow Lando to be relegated to a secondary role. There seems to be a balance here and that’s good.

Regarding Lando's pace. It's been exactly nine years since Lando tested his first Formula 1 car (2017). That was in Hungary. Back then, Lando demonstrated how quickly he can adapt to new conditions, how fast he is on a single lap, and how he can drive consistently fast while maintaining good tire condition in race mode. I was very impressed then and became a fan of his that very day. Many years have passed, and Lando is still just as fast on this track. So Lando may be right in thinking he was unrivaled here, and it's not a given that in the second half of the season there will be another track like this that suits the McLaren car and Lando personally just as well.

A simple google search will show that Lando is managed by ADD management, not Zak brown.

[Brahmal]

Btw, has there been a discussion in this thread about how the shorter gear ratios might be one of the reasons (apart from the floor & RW update) that McLaren dominated in Hungary ? very short straights, lots of traction zones, and more recharging efficiency (thus providing more deployment opportunity) with shorter gears.

They have the shortest wheelbase in the field by far, which should theoretically give an advantage in short, low-speed corners. Don't know if that's always the case in practice though.

[Macklaren]

They have the shortest wheelbase in the field by far, which should theoretically give an advantage in short, low-speed corners. Don't know if that's always the case in practice though.

Only if they have enough downforce, I think. Which they now do