McLaren managed to bring home both this year’s drivers and constructors Championships, even if they felt the pressure from Max Verstappen until the last lap.
As the year unfolded, it became clear that Red Bull were the team willing to invest in their 2025 development. McLaren, meanwhile, put an emphasis on the 2026 regulations considerably sooner.
Andrea Stella believes Red Bull could pay the price for their relatively late switch to the next generation of cars.
McLaren and Red Bull pursue different priorities
Red Bull are no strangers to going all-in for the sake of securing a world title. It was the Austrian team who were famously still introducing updates at the final round of 2021 – such was their conviction in winning the Championship.
At the time, the consensus was that Red Bull would be playing catch-up for the 2022 regulations.
Once the cars arrived to pre-season, however, it soon became clear this assumption was incorrect. Adrian Newey’s technical department managed to unlock a concept that gave them a fundamental – despite being slightly late to the development race.
Looking ahead to next year, Laurent Mekies’ personnel face a similar challenge. On this occasion, however, Red Bull are also tasked with producing their very first power unit.
McLaren, who will rely on Mercedes engines for the 2026 regulations, decided to abandon the MCL39 earlier in the season. After clinching the drivers’ title with Lando Norris, this decision can be said to have paid off.
With that said, even before the title fight concluded, Andrea Stella defended his team’s strategy:
“The 2026 project would be heavily compromised. We want to win championships in the future.
“I think that when we look at Red Bull, and when we consider some of the complaints they had at the start of the season- perhaps they had more margin to develop efficiently, focusing on 2025.
“And perhaps they are happier to give up a little bit on 2026, because they might have some other issues for 2026 whereby they say – ‘Let’s focus on 2025’.
“To win championships in the future, you need to have a competitive car, and I think we have been very considerate in the timing of switching our full resources to 2026.”
Staying on top
Few teams are successful in staying at the very top across regulation changes. Given the complexity of the 2026 cars, McLaren have the odds stacked against them to retain their supremacy.
Arguably the biggest limitation for McLaren is their wind tunnel time. Because of their Championship triumph, the papaya squad will have the fewest wind tunnel hours of any team.
This is part of F1’s sliding scale – which gives the winning constructor the least wind tunnel hours. Meanwhile, the last-placed team receives the most tunnel hours – a rule designed to help equalise the field.
To some extent, this put Andrea Stella’s team in an awkward position when allocating their resources.
Still, McLaren should not be written off. As evidenced by Stella’s comments, the factory in Woking is determined to keep their momentum and cement themselves at the very front.
If Mercedes succeed in producing a top calibre engine, it will provide McLaren with a crucial piece of the puzzle. The team’s ability to improve in a short time-frame should also be noted.
After all, the British team were at the back of the field at the beginning of 2023 – only to have the fastest car one year later.
Thanks to their uniquely structured technical department and meticulous approach, the reigning Champions feel they can raise the bar once again.
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Main photo: Peter Fox/Getty Images (McLaren Media Centre)