McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella believes that Formula 1 still presents the ultimate challenge for F1 drivers, regardless of the new regulations. Stella said, “I think what we have seen in Bahrain definitely confirms that it is the ultimate challenge.”
Stella sees the 2026 F1 season being harder on drivers
The 2026 F1 season features the most complex set of regulations that the sport has seen in recent years. For new and experienced drivers alike, there has been an adjustment period.
“Probably this is because Bahrain is an harvest-rich circuit, so you drive in a very normal way. And if anything, I have to say with these regulations, the cars slide quite a lot more and the role of the driver, if anything, is even more involved into extracting the most out of the car.”
Luckily for McLaren, they successfully completed all three weeks of pre-season testing. They tested for three days at the Circuit de Barcelona. After that, they tested for six days at the Bahrain International Circuit. This allows Stella to note differences between the two F1 circuits under the new regulations.
“Barcelona was a slightly different situation because, being a relatively harvest-poor circuit, there were some special manoeuvres that needed to be made, like not being flat out in high speed in order to balance the level of harvesting and produce the fastest lap time, which in Barcelona didn’t necessarily mean that you could be at the fastest speed in high speed.
“We will have to see a few more circuits, I think, from this point of view,” he added.
McLaren needs more data before making major F1 claims
“I think these two circuits do not necessarily give the full picture. Definitely, there could still be cases in which the driver needs to approach driving in what is not a common way of driving a car, which is just drive as flat as possible, brake as late as possible, and go as fast as possible in every corner.”
So far, McLaren has only tested at two circuits, which Stella believes gives the McLaren F1 team a limited view. However, he admits they have been able to make small changes ahead of the season-opener.
“But like I said, we will have to monitor the situation a bit. For us, what was important is that the safety concerns were addressed immediately. I think when it comes to improving the balance between the regulations in a way, in their current format, and some other driving challenges, there is time to fix this.
“For instance, there is a way of changing the way in which we deploy the electrical engine, such that this requirement to do these special manoeuvres is reduced. So there are things that can be done in the future, but I think we should monitor [things] a little bit more in some other circuits.”
McLaren will soon head to Melbourne for the 2026 season-opener, and it’s Oscar Piastri’s home race. Last year, the Australian Grand Prix saw Norris win and take the lead in the World Drivers’ Championship. He took the title lead from Max Verstappen, who had held it for over 1,000 days. The Brit would narrowly go on to win the title from the Dutchman.
McLaren was also the team to beat during the 2025 season. Now, they come back at the reigning World Constructors’ Champions for the second year in a row.
