The McLaren team is leaving nothing to chance. After six Grands Prix in the current season, the papayas are dominating both championships, but that doesn’t mean the team is resting on its laurels. Team boss Andrea Stella promises that multiple upgrades are coming for the MCL39, even though the team is already focusing on the car for 2026. Ideally, he wants to dominate Formula 1, as he once did with Michael Schumacher.
The recent Miami GP was indicative of McLaren’s lead. Under the favourable conditions in Florida, the team achieved another one-two finish, with drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris pulling a gap of over thirty seconds on nearest rival George Russell of Mercedes. According to experts, this is all down to McLaren’s superior ability to cool the tyres.
Limited Advantage of McLaren
However, team boss Andrea Stella does not believe that McLaren will have such a large lead on every circuit. The defeat against Max Verstappen in Japan, he says, is proof that McLaren can indeed be beaten this year. That’s why the British racing team is working on upgrades to make the MCL39 even more versatile. New parts, to be introduced at a later date, are expected to improve the car’s performance under a variety of conditions.”We understand the strengths of the MCL39,” said Andrea Stella during the official FIA press conference in Imola. “Overall, it’s a competitive car, but it certainly has an advantage in some circumstances over the rest of the field. We saw that in Miami as well. At the same time, we know that it’s a different story on other circuits, such as Saudi Arabia or Japan. Things get a lot more exciting there.”
Back to the Schumacher Days
“Hopefully, we can maintain these characteristics and this advantage throughout the season,” Stella continued. “But for that, we need to continue developing and upgrading the car. We see that the competition is not standing still.” Rivals Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari have all brought upgrades, big or small, to Imola. Most teams want to come with more drastic changes for the upcoming Spanish GP.
“We have to go back to 2004,” Stella concluded with a romantic look. He referred to his years as performance engineer for Michael Schumacher – the McLaren team boss was once a key part of his heyday at Ferrari. “We won twelve of the first thirteen races with Michael (Schumacher) behind the wheel. We only lost Monaco, and that was because he crashed with Montoya in the tunnel. Otherwise, we probably would have won thirteen out of thirteen races. I often refer back to that season, also to motivate myself – that’s where we want to be. I don’t think that’s going to happen this year, so we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
