What are McLaren's upgrade plans for the coming races?
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella has confirmed that the Woking-based outfit will introduce a significant package of aerodynamic upgrades across the Formula 1 summer shutdown as the team looks to reduce the performance deficit to championship leaders Mercedes.
The 2026 campaign has been one of contrasts for McLaren. The team has demonstrated impressive pace at circuits such as Miami and Suzuka, where it fought near the front, but has struggled to consistently match the outright speed of Mercedes and, on several occasions, Ferrari.
Reliability issues related to the new power unit regulations have also hampered the team's progress, costing valuable points through multiple retirements.
Speaking to the media, Stella revealed that McLaren's development plan is centered around a two-stage upgrade package, with new components arriving both before and after the mandatory summer shutdown.
"My ideal trajectory at the moment is that we would like to close the gap with the next round of upgrades that will happen across the shutdown with something happening before and something happening after the shutdown."
The Italian explained that aerodynamic development has become the primary performance differentiator under Formula 1's new technical regulations.
"The development itself, especially from an aerodynamic point of view, is at the moment the central, the pivotal element of performance development, and this is no secret."
Stella also highlighted how the 2026 regulations have fundamentally changed the way teams approach car setup, placing even greater emphasis on aerodynamic efficiency than in previous generations of Formula 1 machinery.
"This is not only our car, and this is across the entire paddock, compared to the previous generation of cars. Let me say that there's less attention to the mechanical setup, to the mechanical devices, or even to the grounding itself – ways to run the car close to the ground and still make this bottoming acceptable."
The comments underline the challenges teams have faced adapting to the new rules, where maximizing aerodynamic performance has become the key to unlocking lap time while managing the delicate balance of ride height and floor performance.
Despite speculation surrounding rival teams—including Red Bull and Max Verstappen's future—Stella made it clear that McLaren's attention remains firmly on its own development programme.
"As Andrea Stella, there's enough to do at McLaren, not to think about what Laurent [Mekies - Red Bull team boss] should do. Laurent is very capable, he's very intelligent, very competent.
"So I'm sure he will do everything that is necessary and McLaren and Red Bull hopefully will be able to join Mercedes and Ferrari and we can have an even more exciting Formula 1 in the second part of the season."
McLaren currently sits 154 points behind Mercedes in the Constructors' Championship, while Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri occupy fifth and sixth places respectively in the Drivers' standings.
Although the gap remains substantial, the team hopes its upcoming aerodynamic developments will allow it to reproduce the kind of mid-season turnaround that has become a hallmark of recent McLaren campaigns.
