McLaren plans phased upgrades for 2026 and next season

McLaren will introduce upgrades in stages, aiming both to close the performance gap to the front and to evaluate aerodynamic ideas for next year’s car. Team principal Andrea Stella outlined the approach after the Singapore GP, where the team’s pace was in line with expectations.

Red Bull’s upgrades have sharpened the gap

Stella said McLaren’s recent lack of performance had not come as a surprise. He pointed to Red Bull making gains with its latest updates, describing the season’s development contest as one in which teams take turns moving forward. At Singapore, he estimated Red Bull’s advantage over McLaren at around three tenths of a second—a margin he said an upgrade could potentially address.

Lando Norris had described McLaren as the grid’s fourth-fastest car, saying the effort required to drive it was mentally draining. Stella’s assessment was that the team had performed where it expected at Singapore, while rivals’ development had shifted the competitive order.

McLaren’s plans also reflect a close fight for championship position. Stella said the team wanted to keep delivering performance while assessing how its rivals’ pace compared, with Red Bull close on points but ahead competitively and Ferrari in the championship picture. McLaren’s recent questions about the MCL40’s potential underline the challenge facing the team as it tries to turn development into results.

Aerodynamic tests will inform next year’s car

The upgrade programme is not solely about the remaining races. McLaren wants to test fundamental aerodynamic concepts that could carry over to next year’s design. Stella said development had been underway since the start of 2025, and that after two years of work the aerodynamic picture had become increasingly complex: some ideas may work, while others may not.

That makes the coming updates a test of direction as well as a bid for immediate pace. McLaren’s experimental H-Wing return is another example of the team exploring aerodynamic solutions during the season.

Stella said the team hoped the phased package would close the gap to the leading cars. Its success remains to be seen, but the plan gives McLaren two objectives: improve its position in the current fight and establish which concepts deserve to shape next year’s car.