Andrea Stella, the team principal of McLaren, has sent a clear message to the rest of the grid as the 2026 Formula One season heads into its second half. He believes the Woking outfit has finally found a rhythm and is determined to keep that momentum rolling for the remaining twelve races. The British squad, fresh from securing a long‑awaited victory in the final pre‑summer event, saw Lando Norris dominate the Hungarian Grand Prix and bring the team back into the conversation.
That win not only ended a winless spell for McLaren but also narrowed the gap to the championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, to 91 points. In the constructors' tally McLaren trimmed Mercedes' advantage to 159 points, while Ferrari sit 72 points behind the German marque. Although those margins are still sizable, the performance in Budapest has given Stella confidence that the team can sustain a strong showing through the rest of the year, beginning with the Dutch Grand Prix sprint weekend on August 21‑23.
When asked whether McLaren could realistically re‑enter the fight for the world titles, Stella replied, "It's a tough question, but the answer is clear. If we can keep delivering the kind of pace we showed in Budapest, we still have a lot to achieve.
The key is to keep developing the MCL40, stay ahead of the update race and make sure every solution we bring to the track works when it matters." He added that early‑season struggles had taught the team the value of momentum: once they get moving, they tend to stay in motion. The 2026 calendar features twelve more races, offering a total of 546 points that can still be claimed. Stella reminded everyone that the gaps in both the drivers' and constructors' championships are significant, but last year’s experience shows how quickly fortunes can change. He noted, "I always tell the team that if we have built a new display cabinet for the latest trophies at the McLaren Technology Centre, we have a responsibility to keep filling it." Looking back, McLaren entered the summer break in a very different position than they did a year earlier.
At this point in the previous season the team led the constructors' standings by 299 points and Oscar Piastri was ahead of Norris in what appeared to be a two‑horse battle for the drivers' crown. However, Max Verstappen of Red Bull mounted a dramatic comeback, cutting the deficit to just two points behind Norris and finishing the season eleven points ahead of Piastri. That turnaround reinforced the lesson that no lead is safe and that every race matters.
The Hungarian win was the culmination of an upgrade package that McLaren had downplayed before the event. Norris took pole and then turned that advantage into a commanding victory, beating Verstappen by fifteen seconds. The margin could have been even larger if not for a brief tussle with teammate Piastri on the opening lap, which saw Norris lose some time before regaining control.
Stella explained the development process behind the upgrades, emphasizing that there was no single turning point but rather a growing awareness of the scale of the challenge. He said the enforced break in April gave the engineers the breathing room to analyse the MCL40’s performance in depth and to decide where the car needed a stronger focus.
"The Budapest weekend was the highlight of the first half of the season," he noted, "not just because of the win, but because the aerodynamic package we introduced at the Hungaroring represented a clear shift in our development direction and delivered a tangible step forward in competitiveness." Collaboration with engine supplier Mercedes has also been a focal point. Stella praised the joint effort to extract more performance from the new Mercedes HPP power unit. "Over the past few months we have deepened our understanding of the new engine and worked closely with our technical partners to optimise its use," he said.
He acknowledged that fine‑tuning the power unit will remain a complex, ongoing task throughout the remainder of the season. As the summer break ends, the championship will resume with a sprint format 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, canceling at any time. The Dutch weekend will be the first real test of whether McLaren can sustain the form shown in Budapest and continue to chip away at the points lead held by Mercedes and Ferrari. Stella’s message to rival teams is unmistakable: McLaren is not content to rest on a single victory. The team is intent on maintaining the progress they have made, accelerating development, and delivering solutions that translate into on‑track performance.
If they can keep the MCL40 evolving faster than the competition, the next twelve races could see a reshuffling of the championship order, with McLaren potentially re‑entering the fight for both the drivers' and constructors' titles. The upcoming Dutch Grand Prix will be the first indicator of whether that ambition can become reality.