2026 McLaren Mastercard F1 Team

[Badger]

After one more day the whole VSC seems fishy to me. First of all Stroll hadn't even crashed and in fact he was reversing to go out. A double yellow was enough. Secondly have a look at the time they took to get the VSC out. It's like they waited for Antonelli. https://x.com/F1/status/2099232397996790024

I feel like Norris's win was stolen yesterday.

Stolen by whom?

[basti313]

According to Stella it was a no-brainer to pit Norris.

Well, he sleeps better with the story of it had to be like this...instead of explaining the strategy error over and over again.

If it was so obvious one lap later then it must have been a no-brainer to risk to pit before any knowledge of the vsc.

The key fact is that track position is everything here, like in Monaco so pitting slightly early is fine.

Hence, in this specific situation near the pit window it was a clear decision to pit.

To me it looks like they were afraid of Russel staying out and playing the road block for Ant. Otherwise they would have just pitted once the window to the midfield opened around lap 9-10 with 30sec+.
So they always had the trigger "we pit once Ant or Rus pits". This is what lead them to the very wrong discission.

Thing is nobody was sure they would bring out the VSC. Stroll didn't crash and in fact he reversed out of the track exit. A double yellows would be enough there.

Yes, could have been just a yellow and accordingly Lando behind a Rus roadblock. But I think with the stupid location where Stroll put the car, the workers needed to be very close to the track in a major braking zone. So calling the VSC was fine.

The article on motorsport, shows that the lap times were shrinking between Lando and Leclerc with lap 13 pretty much neck and neck. With the others on new hards it seems Lando wouldn't have had the tyres to extend it much anyway and keep extending.

Basically the VSC secured 3rd no matter what.

If Lando’s tyres were really going off then there is even less excuse as to why the pit wall was not in the ball when they saw Stroll had stopped and call Lando in to cover the chance of a VSC. Utterly brain dead.

I think this is not making sense. We saw on all cars behind, that they were just managing the tires at the point just before the VSC. McLaren was managing to a 39.5 before Lec put in a faster lap. Speeded up to 39.0 and then managed back to the 39.5.
Even Ver on used Softs was matching this pace...
As mentioned above, it would have been enough to stay out for 10 laps, which is easy on the Medium if the Hards were not showing any issues after 40+ laps. Especially with no thread behind.

[mwillems]

The problem with looking for conspiracies is just that you'll see what you want to see. Facts and reasoning don't come into it.

Are the FiA trying to give Antonelli every chance to win the title to create a new highly marketable star? I'd imagine they'd like that, but I would have a lot of doubt as to whether they are manufacturing it themselves.

[Emag]

Pretty much every time people claim manipulation it’s just the FIA being slow and/or inconsistent.

It was just unlucky timing. It could happen to anyone. If the roles were reversed and it was Kimi who got screwed out of a win, people would be celebrating here.

[Danzo84]

Pretty much every time people claim manipulation it’s just the FIA being slow and/or inconsistent.

It was just unlucky timing. It could happen to anyone. If the roles were reversed and it was Kimi who got screwed out of a win, people would be celebrating here.

This is very true as someone who didnt care that the safety car picked up the wrong guy for landos first win. I do think the VSC should be fair for all drivers tho. Maybe keep it on for a whole lap or close the pitlane except for clearly damaged cars, also red flag tyre changes should not count as a madatory pitstop.

[Zaamy]

Don't know how reliable this is, but thought it was interesting

MCLAREN: THE ADUO MERCEDES IN BAKU BEFORE THE W17?
And the comparison could become even more interesting in Baku. If what we've learned is true, McLaren could receive the new Mercedes ADUO specification before the factory team itself.

Woking could therefore have Brixworth's performance upgrade available as early as the next round, while Mercedes will have to wait. This is an important detail considering that McLaren, already in Madrid, seemed to have a little more pace.

https://autoracer.it/antonelli-due-seco ... s-mclaren/

[AR3-GP]

Don't know how reliable this is, but thought it was interesting

MCLAREN: THE ADUO MERCEDES IN BAKU BEFORE THE W17?
And the comparison could become even more interesting in Baku. If what we've learned is true, McLaren could receive the new Mercedes ADUO specification before the factory team itself.

Woking could therefore have Brixworth's performance upgrade available as early as the next round, while Mercedes will have to wait. This is an important detail considering that McLaren, already in Madrid, seemed to have a little more pace.

https://autoracer.it/antonelli-due-seco ... s-mclaren/

1) this would seem like a bit of "payback" for stiffing Mclaren on the battery tweaks around Austria and ahead of Australia.
2) It's hollow because Mercedes knows the championship is wrapped up. Let's see them do it when the game is on.
3) Also hollow because Mclaren would be used as guinea pig. If they discover new reliability issues, they can avoid introducing it on Antonelli's car.

So this should not be seen as Mercedes making good on anything. It's very much in the interest of Mercedes to do it this way while selling it to Zak like they are making up for something.

[Zaamy]

Don't know how reliable this is, but thought it was interesting

MCLAREN: THE ADUO MERCEDES IN BAKU BEFORE THE W17?
And the comparison could become even more interesting in Baku. If what we've learned is true, McLaren could receive the new Mercedes ADUO specification before the factory team itself.

Woking could therefore have Brixworth's performance upgrade available as early as the next round, while Mercedes will have to wait. This is an important detail considering that McLaren, already in Madrid, seemed to have a little more pace.

https://autoracer.it/antonelli-due-seco ... s-mclaren/

1) this would seem like a bit of "payback" for stiffing Mclaren on the battery tweaks around Austria and ahead of Australia.
2) It's hollow because Mercedes knows the championship is wrapped up. Let's see them do it when the game is on.
3) Also hollow because Mclaren would be used as guinea pig. If they discover new reliability issues, they can avoid introducing it on Antonelli's car.

So this should not be seen as Mercedes making good on anything. It's very much in the interest of Mercedes to do it this way while selling it to Zak like they are making up for something.

Yes my first thought was they were using McLaren as Guinea pigs as well.
Not 100% sure where they are both up to with engine allocations, but thought they'd used 4 and would need to take a penalty too?

Edit: This is the most recent data I can find on the allocations

[mwillems]

This year is a write off, I'm happy that we finish third this year and continue into what I hope will be a championship year with more dev time than our competitors.

[mwillems]

Don't know how reliable this is, but thought it was interesting



https://autoracer.it/antonelli-due-seco ... s-mclaren/

1) this would seem like a bit of "payback" for stiffing Mclaren on the battery tweaks around Austria and ahead of Australia.
2) It's hollow because Mercedes knows the championship is wrapped up. Let's see them do it when the game is on.
3) Also hollow because Mclaren would be used as guinea pig. If they discover new reliability issues, they can avoid introducing it on Antonelli's car.

So this should not be seen as Mercedes making good on anything. It's very much in the interest of Mercedes to do it this way while selling it to Zak like they are making up for something.

Yes my first thought was they were using McLaren as Guinea pigs as well.
Not 100% sure where they are both up to with engine allocations, but thought they'd used 4 and would need to take a penalty too?

Edit: This is the most recent data I can find on the allocations

I think this comes back to conspiracies. The new engine will be tested to death. It will be timing. Kimi has 4 engines and Merc may not want to take a penalty at Baku, so are holding off until a race when both drivers can take the engine and the penalty is mitigated because of the track type.

So, a more powerful engine and the return of the H Wing.

We had the H Wing at Monza and we were a whopping 9kph down, so I can't see that being clawed back at Baku. I can't see anything more than a very tough fight for 3rd at best.

[Darth-Piekus]

This year is a write off, I'm happy that we finish third this year and continue into what I hope will be a championship year with more dev time than our competitors.

Hold your horses. We still have 9 races to go and plenty of time to get 2nd in both Drivers and Constructors. I understand though why you might want to finish 3rd.

[mwillems]

This year is a write off, I'm happy that we finish third this year and continue into what I hope will be a championship year with more dev time than our competitors.

Hold your horses. We still have 9 races to go and plenty of time to get 2nd in both Drivers and Constructors. I understand though why you might want to finish 3rd.

I'm not saying we won't get 2nd, I'm saying I don't want second. If we aren't first, the next big prize is wind tunnel and CFD time.

[JoeE]

This year is a write off, I'm happy that we finish third this year and continue into what I hope will be a championship year with more dev time than our competitors.

Hold your horses. We still have 9 races to go and plenty of time to get 2nd in both Drivers and Constructors. I understand though why you might want to finish 3rd.

I'm not saying we won't get 2nd, I'm saying I don't want second. If we aren't first, the next big prize is wind tunnel and CFD time.

AT this stage of the game I would agree. We get more allocation for the next year if we finish 3rd so it has it advantages. Still a top 3 finish with what i hope is a few more race wins. While Lando is still mathematically in the game, it would take a lot of stars to align for him to take the title this year at this stage.

[CjC]

“ Today’s result gives McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team another Podium and double points finish on a weekend where race victory was possible. Although the outcome does not fully reflect the opportunity created by Lando’s Pole position and early lead, the team will take the disappointment on the chin and leave Madrid encouraged by the MCL40’s performance. The single-lap speed shown in Qualifying, combined with the strong race pace demonstrated this afternoon, provides a positive foundation to carry into the next few Grands Prix. With further upgrades expected over the coming races, the team will look to build on that competitiveness and convert its pace into stronger results.”

https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula- ... xdx._dbXTT

[mwillems]

Hold your horses. We still have 9 races to go and plenty of time to get 2nd in both Drivers and Constructors. I understand though why you might want to finish 3rd.

I'm not saying we won't get 2nd, I'm saying I don't want second. If we aren't first, the next big prize is wind tunnel and CFD time.

AT this stage of the game I would agree. We get more allocation for the next year if we finish 3rd so it has it advantages. Still a top 3 finish with what i hope is a few more race wins. While Lando is still mathematically in the game, it would take a lot of stars to align for him to take the title this year at this stage.

Like the front was the weak point for the first half of last season and hindered Lando, it is the rear this year, and hence Oscar is struggling.

Simply leave the rear till the winter