Everyone hunting for McLaren
The revolution in F1 has taken shape and substance, and this weekend we will see the first effects in the race. Who knows if it will also be a revolution in the hierarchies: in Melbourne, the hunt for McLaren will begin, which in the last year and a half has been the technical benchmark and now seems to start slightly behind Mercedes and Ferrari. But in Woking they have shown several times that they know how to work very well during the season, and even team principal Andrea Stella is not worried about a possible slow start.
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The papaya team arrives in Australia satisfied with the work done in the winter months between Montmeló and Sakhir, where over 1.000 laps were completed in nine days of track activity. This intense program allowed for the collection of fundamental data on the performance and reliability of the MCL40 and, above all, laid solid foundations for the development of a single-seater that – in Stella’s hopes – will have to be a worthy successor to the world champion car.
Stella’s words
“We arrive at the opening of the 2026 season in Melbourne satisfied with the work successfully carried out in the last months of testing in Barcelona and Bahrain“, this was the comment from the engineer from Orvieto. “The car we will bring to Albert Park will have substantially the same specifications seen in Bahrain, with some small aerodynamic modifications. We will continue to work on important aspects such as weight reduction and optimization of weight distribution, as well as further exploiting the potential of the power unit“.
“This season is an exciting but complex challenge and it’s fantastic to be back racing; it’s the reason why we are in this sport. We can’t wait to finally put our cards on the table in Melbourne and see where we truly stand as the first races unfold“, he added. “Everyone at McLaren has played an important role in bringing the MCL40 to the track, but the hard work starts now and we enthusiastically welcome the task ahead of us“.
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