2026 McLaren Mastercard F1 Team

[FittingMechanics]

In other news, McLaren signed Scott Dixon to a multiyear contract in IndyCar.

Zak seems to be going 100% toward ovals and Indy 500. All three drivers will be good on ovals and have plenty of experience.

Makes sense when 75% of the calendar is road courses.

Well if you want "Triple crown" it makes sense.

All three drivers are good on road courses too, but Lundgaard was dropped because of ovals.

[FittingMechanics]

In other news, McLaren signed Scott Dixon to a multiyear contract in IndyCar.

Zak seems to be going 100% toward ovals and Indy 500. All three drivers will be good on ovals and have plenty of experience.

Dixon is a great champion, of course, but he's 46. Will be 47 next year. It seems like a weird move.

Yeah, not sure but he was super strong before Palou.

[mwillems]

Our season so far has been mediocre.

It's probably not a coincidence that the teams fighting for the WDC last year are now 3rd and 4th, while the teams that were able to step back sooner and focus on this year are currently 1st and 2nd.

I was tentatively expecting us to struggle a bit this year. I have the same attitude I had going into years before the 1st recent WCC win. If we’re not genuinely in the fight, then don’t burn too much energy chasing marginal positions. Accept the lower placing, take the development benefit, and make sure we're in the best possible shape for next year.

We're about to get a reset based on mid season position, and that seems to be coming just as we're launching a major upgrade package that could potentially put us in the fight for wins.

Obviously I hope the car is great. But unless we can somehow mount a real challenge this year, I'd almost prefer us to finish 3rd in the WCC, write this year off strategically, and put everything into going for the crown at the first proper opportunity next year. Losing dev time for 2nd... I don't see the point. Let's be strategic and aim for the top.

This is the pragmatic approach, that appeals to 'older' set of fans like some of us, who have seen extreme versions of the rich v poor divide across teams in the pre cost cap era, where a race weekend appealed only to geeks/nerds rather than those looking for entertainment, because there were 'less overtakes' (which seems to be the recently found parameter, to justify this 50% battery era, where on-the-limit-driving is less rewarding). However, DTS, social media etc have brought in new fans, who see teams/drivers like an extension of their own personality. They cannot tolerate 'not winning'.

Die-hard-will-fight-to-death-in-socialmedia-like-I-do-in-computer-games-doesn't-matter-whether-I-understand-the-sport-in-depth-because-I-am-a-loyalist-persona-online-and-I-need-to-prove-it-everytime-everywhere is the new motto. Some of this we can see in this forum itself. 'THE BUSINESS' doesn't care for traditional fans like the few of us, what matters to the 'BOTTOM LINE' is the new fans. As it should be. Change is the only thing that doesn't change. But for some of us, it's difficult to swallow.

Well there are many commercial aspects as to why 2nd is better than third. But as an old school fan, for me it is 1st or any other position.

I notice that since zI wrote this, Stella said largely the same in intrrviews that have been posted here.

Interesting that the Max deal is reported to be nearly complete too.

Given that Zak looked last year and Baulked at the numbers... have Max' numbers come down, our numbers gone up, or both?

[Ben1980]

It's probably not a coincidence that the teams fighting for the WDC last year are now 3rd and 4th, while the teams that were able to step back sooner and focus on this year are currently 1st and 2nd.

I was tentatively expecting us to struggle a bit this year. I have the same attitude I had going into years before the 1st recent WCC win. If we’re not genuinely in the fight, then don’t burn too much energy chasing marginal positions. Accept the lower placing, take the development benefit, and make sure we're in the best possible shape for next year.

We're about to get a reset based on mid season position, and that seems to be coming just as we're launching a major upgrade package that could potentially put us in the fight for wins.

Obviously I hope the car is great. But unless we can somehow mount a real challenge this year, I'd almost prefer us to finish 3rd in the WCC, write this year off strategically, and put everything into going for the crown at the first proper opportunity next year. Losing dev time for 2nd... I don't see the point. Let's be strategic and aim for the top.

This is the pragmatic approach, that appeals to 'older' set of fans like some of us, who have seen extreme versions of the rich v poor divide across teams in the pre cost cap era, where a race weekend appealed only to geeks/nerds rather than those looking for entertainment, because there were 'less overtakes' (which seems to be the recently found parameter, to justify this 50% battery era, where on-the-limit-driving is less rewarding). However, DTS, social media etc have brought in new fans, who see teams/drivers like an extension of their own personality. They cannot tolerate 'not winning'.

Die-hard-will-fight-to-death-in-socialmedia-like-I-do-in-computer-games-doesn't-matter-whether-I-understand-the-sport-in-depth-because-I-am-a-loyalist-persona-online-and-I-need-to-prove-it-everytime-everywhere is the new motto. Some of this we can see in this forum itself. 'THE BUSINESS' doesn't care for traditional fans like the few of us, what matters to the 'BOTTOM LINE' is the new fans. As it should be. Change is the only thing that doesn't change. But for some of us, it's difficult to swallow.

Well there are many commercial aspects as to why 2nd is better than third. But as an old school fan, for me it is 1st or any other position.

I notice that since zI wrote this, Stella said largely the same in intrrviews that have been posted here.

Interesting that the Max deal is reported to be nearly complete too.

Given that Zak looked last year and Baulked at the numbers... have Max' numbers come down, our numbers gone up, or both?

I think its gone from teams wanting Max to Max wanting teams. And no matter how good he is, no obe will over pay. His power at Merc has decreased with the surge of Kimi, they dont need Nax like they thought. Ferrari are welded to Charles leaving Macca only. And, even then its not really needed, but its a nice option. And would only ve if Oscar wants to go ( which isnt a surprise).

[SilviuAgo]

As we said: first reliability, then performance:



McLaren team principal Andrea Stella on the deficit to Mercedes:
"Our gap to Mercedes today is due 70% to aerodynamic downforce, and 30% to engine utilization."