McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has voiced his admiration for Mercedes’ showing during the first closed shakedown in Barcelona. According to Stella, the W17 averaged roughly two and a half Grand Prix distances per day over the three days of testing. Ferrari and Red Bull also put in strong performances; the constructors’ champion is thereby gearing up for a heated fight in 2026.
At a McLaren event following the winter tests in Barcelona, Andrea Stella was asked about the competition. The Italian shared his observations but stressed the results must be treated cautiously. “It’s, of course, very difficult to give an objective assessment, because we don’t know the other teams’ work programmes, fuel loads and running schedules,” he said. “Moreover, the conditions were very different from what we normally experience at race weekends.”
‘Mercedes sets the bar high’
“That said, it’s clear there are at least three contenders — Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull — who have come out of the blocks strongly,” Stella admitted. “In particular, Mercedes has set the bar high again, and we’ll have to work hard to match that level.” The sweeping changes to the F1 regulations, especially around the new engines, had prompted speculation beforehand that one team could open up a significant advantage.
Stella remained upbeat. “The fact that the three teams I mentioned run three different power units is a first sign that absolute-performance gaps could be limited. At least from the power‑unit suppliers’ perspective.” McLaren completed 287 racing laps in Barcelona — markedly fewer than the top teams I referred to earlier. Stella admitted the team had hoped for more time on track.
“They were three very valuable days,” he continued. “We gathered a huge amount of data and are starting to understand how this new generation of cars actually behaves on track. Of course we would have liked to log more laps, but even the issues that held us up during the first two days helped us get to know the car better,” he added. “We knew that, by pushing the development phase to the absolute limit, our preparation window would be tight. Thanks to the work on track and in Woking we’ve recovered virtually all the lost time. At times it felt like building an aeroplane while it was already airborne, but we pulled it off,” he concluded with a smile.
