Andrea Stella, the team principal of McLaren, has sounded a clear warning to the competition as the 2026 Formula 1 season heads into its second half. He expressed firm belief that once the Woking outfit finds its rhythm, it can keep that momentum rolling for the remaining races. The message came after McLaren, fresh from a long‑awaited victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, demonstrated that the upgrades they introduced were paying off in a big way. The win in Hungary was especially significant because it was achieved by reigning drivers’ champion Lando Norris, who dominated the event from pole position to the checkered flag.
Norris’s triumph not only handed McLaren its first triumph of the year but also narrowed the gap to championship leader Kimi Antonelli to just 91 points. In the constructors' standings, McLaren trimmed Mercedes’s lead to 159 points, putting the British team back into striking distance of the title. To stay in contention for the drivers’ crown, Norris must also overtake Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Charles Leclerc, while Ferrari remains 72 points behind Mercedes in the team battle.
Those margins are sizable, yet Stella pointed to the dramatic improvement shown in Budapest as a sign that the team can sustain a high level of performance over the next twelve rounds, beginning with the Dutch Grand Prix sprint weekend scheduled for 21‑23 August. When asked whether McLaren could re‑enter the fight for the world championships, Stella answered candidly: “It’s a tough question, but the answer is crystal clear.
If we can keep delivering the kind of pace we showed in Budapest, we still have a huge amount to achieve. The key is to keep developing the MCL40 and stay ahead of rivals who are also pushing hard on their upgrade programmes.” He added that the outcome will hinge on how effective the solutions they bring to the track prove to be.
In the early part of the season, McLaren struggled more than expected, but Stella believes that once momentum is built, the team has shown the capacity to preserve it. Looking back at the previous year, McLaren’s situation was starkly different. At the same point in the calendar they had entered the summer break with a commanding 299‑point lead in the constructors’ table, and teammate Oscar Piastri was ahead of Norris in what seemed to be a two‑horse battle for the drivers’ title.
However, Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who was 104 points behind Piastri with nine races left, mounted a spectacular comeback, finishing the season just two points shy of Norris and eleven ahead of Piastri. That dramatic swing reminded Stella that no lead is safe and that the championship can change in a handful of races. Stella emphasized the opportunities that still lie ahead: “There are twelve races left, meaning 546 points are still up for grabs. The gaps are large, but we learned a valuable lesson last year – if we have a new display cabinet for trophies at the McLaren Technology Centre, we have a responsibility to keep filling it.” The Hungarian upgrade package, which the team had downplayed before the event, proved its worth.
Norris not only secured pole but also posted blistering lap times throughout the race, eventually beating Verstappen by 15 seconds. The margin could have been even larger if Norris had not been held up by Piastri during the opening laps, when his teammate overtook him and forced him to lose time.
Reflecting on the development process that led to the Budapest upgrades, Stella explained that there was no single turning point. Instead, it was a growing awareness of the scale of the challenge and the need for targeted adjustments. He noted that the forced break in April gave the engineers a chance to focus entirely on analysing the MCL40’s performance, identifying areas that required reinforcement or a new direction.
“The Budapest weekend was the highlight of the first half of the season, not just because of the result but because the aerodynamic package we introduced at the Hungaroring was the product of a strategic shift in development, allowing us to make a substantial leap in competitiveness,” he said. Stella also praised the collaborative work with engine supplier Mercedes‑HPP. Over recent months, McLaren has deepened its understanding of the new power unit and worked closely with its technical partners to extract maximum performance. “It’s been a long journey with ups and downs, but we’re finally seeing the fruit of that labour.
Optimising the power unit will remain a complex task throughout 2026, but the progress we’re making is encouraging,” he added. The championship will resume after the summer hiatus with a sprint weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix. All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, and fans can stream the coverage via NOW without a contract, cancelling at any time. As the season moves into its decisive phase, McLaren’s message to its rivals is clear: once momentum is seized, the team intends to keep it alive and push hard for every point, knowing that the battle for both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles is far from over.