As the F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Testing concluded, the season opener in Australia draws closer. Over the course of testing in Bahrain and the Barcelona Shakedown, McLaren logged an impressive 1108 laps. Now the team enters the final week of preparation, pushing until the cars are officially back on track.
Stella on F1 Bahrain Testing: “Every run we did allowed us to learn something”
McLaren Mastercard F1 Team ended the 2025 season on top, storming to the Constructors’ Championship for a second straight year, and they added the Drivers’ Championship too. While the team undoubtedly hopes to remain on top this season, the new era of regulations poses a new challenge.
Speaking in a Q&A released by McLaren, Team Principal Andrea Stella was asked whether he is satisfied with the team’s work and his assessment of their progress in Bahrain.
“Yes, we are satisfied. I think we worked very well, both on the track and in Woking, to gather a lot of useful information to better understand the behaviour of the MCL40 and the new power unit. In nine days across Barcelona and Bahrain, we completed more than 1,000 laps and covered essentially all of the items on the programme we had defined before travelling to Bahrain.
“From a reliability point of view, we have made good progress and, above all, we have managed to make the car faster, both in terms of the chassis and the use of the PU supplied by our partner at HPP, with whom we are working intensively to understand more and more how to exploit the potential available. Furthermore, running continuously on a demanding circuit like Sakhir allowed us to gather important information about the behaviour of the new generation of Pirelli tyres. As was the case in Barcelona, every run we did allowed us to learn something.”
Norris and Piastri prepared for the new season
Lando Norris enters the 2026 season with a new number on his McLaren. After winning his first World Championship in 2025, Norris took the number 1. The title fight was close between the two McLaren drivers early on, with Oscar Piastri also putting in an impressive performance. Now, the drivers head into a new season with valuable experience from last season and data gathered during testing. Still, the testing showed how the new regulations will affect driving ability.
When asked how the drivers are feeling ahead of the first race weekend of the 2026 season, Stella responded:
“Positive. Both Lando and Oscar were able to drive continuously at Sakhir and worked very hard on all of the areas that will allow them to improve the overall performance of the car. Let’s not forget, a driver’s talent and ability to make the most of all the tools at their disposal has perhaps never been so important – not only in Qualifying but in all aspects of race management, from the start onwards. The quality of the integration between driver, engineers and the car will be increasingly important.”
Stella on the competitiveness of the MCL40 ahead of 2026 F1 season
Similar to McLaren driver Norris’s comments, Stella previously said that, in terms of competitiveness, McLaren is a step behind Ferrari and Mercedes. When assessing the MCL40’s competitiveness against the other teams, Stella still believes the usual suspects are on top.
The Team Principal went on to explain what McLaren learned after analysing the gathered data in more detail.
“With all the unknowns involved – in testing there are parameters that are not fully known, such as the amount of fuel on board or, particularly from this year, the way in which the available energy is used – I feel I can confirm what I said in Bahrain: the ‘usual suspects’ – strictly, in alphabetical order: Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull – are a step ahead of the competition. Within this leading group, we believe that Ferrari and Mercedes are a step ahead, although it is difficult to quantify how large the gap is. We will find out starting next week in Melbourne.
“For our part, we are happy with what we have seen in our car, but we are equally aware that some of our main competitors – it is not coincidence that all three are works teams – have done an excellent job. We need to work hard to catch up and develop the car as quickly as possible. Once the cards are on the table, development will become the major challenge. To use a football metaphor, the first part of the season will see us playing a bit defensively, trying to exploit the counterattack.”
Stella notes aerodynamic updates and adjustments ahead of the F1 Australian GP
When asked if the MCL40 in Melbourne will be different from the one in Sakhir, Stella says there will not be any significant changes at Albert Park.
One thing is for sure, there is a lot of learning still to be done with these new cars and engines.
“It will essentially be the same. We will have introduced some minor aerodynamic updates and will continue to work on important aspects, such as the weight of the car – this is a rather significant factor not only in absolute terms but also because going below the minimum weight will allow us to work on weight distribution. Another key factor is the exploitation of the power unit, as I mentioned earlier.”
