McLaren’s 2026 Woes Run Deeper Than the Engine
It is only one Grand Prix into the 2026 season, and McLaren’s title defense already seems in doubt. Lando Norris, sporting a number one on his car, finished 51 seconds off the lead in Australia. Oscar Piastri’s grid spot was left empty when the lights went out after a heartbreaking shunt on the reconnaissance lap. However, the poor outing can’t be blamed on misfortune. The gap was already clear on Saturday when both McLarens qualified nearly a second behind George Russell on pole with the same power unit.
McLaren boss Andrea Stella has expressed disappointment at the lack of information his team received about the dominant 2026 Mercedes power unit before they arrived in Australia. The 55-year-old has attributed the papaya side’s early pace deficit to weeks of testing without access to the same power unit the works team was running. He mentioned the car’s behavior has been hard to predict because of this. However, there are suggestions that the massive gap in race pace between the defending champion Norris and his rivals was due to more than just the power unit.
CEO Zak Brown’s early concerns that his team could start the season towards the bottom of F1’s big four have been proven correct. The story of the weekend may have been Silver Arrows' dominance, but Ferrari and Red Bull also looked stronger than the 2025 Constructors Champions. The qualifying margins were thin, but Norris never threatened either Ferrari after they sped past him as soon as the lights went green. Isack Hadjar was controlling a comfortable gap over McLaren’s sole remaining driver until a mechanical failure ended his race. Max Verstappen started the race in 20th place after his crash in qualifying and threatened to pass Norris in his final stint. The British driver struggled throughout the race with tire wear, which was a strength of the title-winning MCL39. There are also reports that this year's MCL40 is overweight compared to its competitors. Stella himself has admitted that the car lacks downforce. While McLaren’s relegation to a customer without a seat at the table in power unit development has surely affected early-season results, 51 seconds is immense. The defending champions have a lot more to improve on to close that gap if they are to compete for race wins, let alone the championship.
