McLaren identifies tyre graining as key hurdle in pursuit of Mercedes and Ferrari
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has openly addressed the team's ongoing battle with tyre graining, issuing a clear directive on what the Woking-based squad must do to close the gap to front-runners Mercedes and Ferrari.
The MCL40 has established itself as the third-quickest car on the 2026 grid, but McLaren's campaign has been hampered by early-season reliability woes. The team found itself on the back foot following Oscar Piastri's Did Not Start (DNS) in Melbourne, which was compounded when both Piastri and Lando Norris failed to start in China due to glitches within their Mercedes power units.
A resurgence in Japan
Despite the early setbacks, McLaren showed significant promise in Japan. Piastri emerged as the closest challenger to the dominant Mercedes cars, executing a brilliant start from third on the grid to seize the race lead. However, the Australian's advantage was undone by unfortunate timing; he pitted just before a safety car period, allowing Kimi Antonelli to capitalize on a cheap pit-stop and take control of the race.
While the outright pace in Suzuka was encouraging, Stella was quick to highlight the underlying areas where McLaren still trails its main rivals, particularly in tyre management. As the crucial fight against Ferrari intensifies, the team boss pinpointed exactly where improvements are needed to consistently challenge for victories.
The grip and graining deficit
Analyzing the performance delta between McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari, Stella pointed to cornering grip and tyre degradation as the primary differentiators.
"When you look at the overlays in the race, you can see that Ferrari still retains some advantage in the corners," Stella explained to the media, including RacingNews365. "Definitely, their car is able to generate more grip than our car, and I think we benefit from a power unit which is overall more competitive. HPP has done a great job in terms of the overall competitiveness of the power unit."
This power unit advantage aligns with recent observations across the paddock, including Charles Leclerc pinpointing a Ferrari power unit deficit compared to Mercedes. However, straight-line speed alone is not enough to overcome McLaren's chassis limitations, particularly when it comes to protecting the Pirelli rubber.
"At Suzuka, there was no graining, and in the previous races, we have seen that when there is front graining, we seem to be slightly more susceptible to this phenomenon than Ferrari and Mercedes," Stella noted.
A clear objective for the MCL40
For McLaren, the path forward is clearly defined. While the Mercedes power unit provides a strong foundation, the aerodynamic and mechanical grip of the MCL40 must be enhanced to mitigate tyre graining and match the cornering speeds of their rivals.
"Mercedes and Ferrari have better performance overall, but good news, it doesn't change our objective, we have to improve the performance of our chassis," Stella concluded.
With a firm understanding of their weaknesses, McLaren's development race will now focus heavily on chassis upgrades, aiming to turn their raw speed into consistent, race-winning performance.
Simone Scanu
Heâs a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.