2026 McLaren Mastercard F1 Team

[CjC]

Don’t think McLaren are defending their championships this season, a race win will be considered a good season me thinks. Roll on the development. We saw Lando significantly improve his pace throughout the race so from race to race we should see clear improvement

[proteus]

What else to expect if the sport has a wind tunnel alocation rules at reg change from a standings of a previous season.

I made this argument last year as well. FIA = Idiots.

This is the same reason McLaren could catch up. The pendulum swings both ways.

To enforce this rule when the new regulation kicks in is like allowing someone on 100m sprint to start 10 metres infront of you. Absolutely stupid. But yeah, FIA is renown for their out of the box thinking for many decades now.

This is fitting well on their shelf of many, many bright ideas from the past.

[FittingMechanics]

Bear in mind that Tunnel and CFD time are allocated to fixed Aerodynamic Testing Periods, which means to say if they don't use the time they lose it if they move in to the next period. Is each one about 8 weeks or something?

So there is only so much they can hold back.

Thank you, didn't know that.

An Aerodynamic Testing Period (ATP) is a period of consecutive calendar weeks for the purposes of
evaluation of the limits within this Article. As soon as one ATP ends a new one begins, with no gaps
between them.
There will be 6 ATPs in any year. The dates of these periods will be as follows:
a. Period 1 will start on 1 January and finish at the end of week 9.
b. Periods 2, 3 and 5 will run for exactly 8 weeks each.
c. Period 4 will run for 10 weeks, comprising the Summer Factory Shutdown described in Article
F3.1.1.
d. Period 6 will end on the 31 December.
For the above definition, weeks are assumed to start on a Monday and week 1 is the first week of
four days or more in the calendar year.
In exceptional circumstances the FIA may revise these ATP at its absolute discretion in accordance
with changes or events likely to affect these restrictions.

So in theory, McLaren could have run their Period 1 allocation after shakedown/test.

[CjC]

I made this argument last year as well. FIA = Idiots.

This is the same reason McLaren could catch up. The pendulum swings both ways.

To enforce this rule when the new regulation kicks in is like allowing someone on 100m sprint to start 10 metres infront of you. Absolutely stupid. But yeah, FIA is renown for their out of the box thinking for many decades now.

This is fitting well on their shelf of many, many bright ideas from the past.

I know the FIA write the rules but your grudge should be directed to Otmar Szafnauer. It was his idea because he wanted Force India to win the championship

[SilviuAgo]

Average race pace in Australia.
Although things look close here, I think averages don't really do the real picture justice when there's a variety of different strategies at play during the race. But McLaren is there, on par with RBR and behind Mercedes and Ferrari. Work to do but we are better than 2022 and with more experience team.

PS: really happy with the reaction to VSC and strategy, what was for today. I really hope Will made an impact.

[_cerber1]

Something strange happened in the middle of the race. And it doesn't look like it's related to the tires.

[AR3-GP]

Something strange happened in the middle of the race. And it doesn't look like it's related to the tires.
https://ibb.co/GvNbRTtm

It was tires. They asked Lando if he thought he could go to the end on mediums just before the final stop. He replied sarcastically that he was chewing through the hards so medium could be a problem.

[Farnborough]

My 'read' is :
it will be a battle for P5-P6 between McL and RBR atleast until summer break ; don't even bother with Mercedes & Ferrari.
Across McL and RBR,
- I felt McL still retains the "balance & tyre life enhanced in final stint" characteristic from last year. Seems like a baked in behavior tied to some fundamental design decision.
- RBR is faster (because Max caught up despite driving through traffic and was only halted by sustained pushing in dirty air that led to more tyre eating and loss of front-end / balance) in general, via a more optimal usage of their PU.

The "cat was let out of the bag" last year with regard to front suspension geometry and the examination of it by other teams.
Split outer joint wishbone characteristics, more advantageous (for tyre conservation) and adventurous placement of steering rack in controlling balance between mechanical grip and tyre longevity in front suspension has been absorbed by other teams.
Did you see the broken MB rear wheel of Antonelli ? The hollow spokes included in air space volume, that could play a part in rear tyre control and load capabilities.
Some of the other teams appear to have eaten McL lunch on this thought trajectory.

[_cerber1]

It was tires. They asked Lando if he thought he could go to the end on mediums just before the final stop. He replied sarcastically that he was chewing through the hards so medium could be a problem.

I need to revisit this moment, but as far as I understand, Lando was asked if he could complete the race with one pit stop, to which he replied no, and he needed another. But even on new tires, he was still somehow slow.

[CjC]

On a positive note, Landos launch at the start was just as good as the Ferrari- flip side, Lando says that the Ferrari has ‘unbelievable’ cornering speeds. Work to do.

[CjC]

Seeing McLaren this far behind is certainly very surprising to me. Either I overestimated their abilities and last regulation cycle was an one-off, or Emag's theory that they likely chose a different development route late makes a lot more sense.

Er it’s not really normal for a team to carry over their ‘team to beat status’ from one regulation set to another. Examples:

McLaren 99 - 00
Ferrari 04 - 05
McLaren 08 - 09
Red Bull 13 - 14
Mercedes 21 - 22
McLaren 25 - 26

Only team I can remember in recent history to do so was Mercedes 16-17 when they took advantage of a superior budget.

[f1isgood]

Seeing McLaren this far behind is certainly very surprising to me. Either I overestimated their abilities and last regulation cycle was an one-off, or Emag's theory that they likely chose a different development route late makes a lot more sense.

Er it’s not really normal for a team to carry over their ‘team to beat status’ from one regulation set to another. Examples:

McLaren 99 - 00
Ferrari 04 - 05
McLaren 08 - 09
Red Bull 13 - 14
Mercedes 21 - 22
McLaren 25 - 26

Only team I can remember in recent history to do so was Mercedes 16-17 when they took advantage of a superior budget.

I expected them to be closer not this far behind. Didn't say they had to be Mercedes. There will be some baked in works advantage that Mercedes will enjoy when engines change.

For what its worth, 21 to 22 is misleading as two teams fought every race and one of them with equal resources did manage to transition just fine.

Also 21-22 is the most useful reference as that's the latest proper one under the budget cap.

I am not sure if anyone at McLaren is happy where they are right now.

[willmesquita]

How did Mclaren went from the best team in tyre deg by far to behind Mercedes and Ferrari? You would expect they would still have some advantage with the cooling system and Rob Marshall's suspension ideas.

Your answer is DF + Weight

[SilviuAgo]

On a positive note, Landos launch at the start was just as good as the Ferrari- flip side, Lando says that the Ferrari has ‘unbelievable’ cornering speeds. Work to do.

True, and maybe with some luck he would have been in a better position.



And related to starts...this could have been end of Liam's F1 career. At least for 2026. Scary!

[AR3-GP]

I wonder what kind of Mclaren we will see in the summer months when the races are hot.