​McLaren Formula 1 team boss Andrea Stella says the outfit must accelerate its development program if it wants to close the gap to Mercedes and keep pace with the other top teams. After consistently lagging behind the leaders this season, McLaren watched Ferrari and Red Bull introduce large aerodynamics upgrades in recent races. The team did not bring major updates to the Austrian Grand Prix, where Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri qualified sixth and seventh—four-tenths adrift of poleman George Russell on the Red Bull Ring short lap.
Stella said McLaren is currently two to three months behind Mercedes in aero development and urged a sharper upgrade push to compete with what he described as the highest level in Formula 1 he has ever seen. “We talk about three months of development we need to catch up. There is only one way to do so, which is to out-develop our rivals,” he said on Saturday night. “We need to rev our engine higher. We need more intensity in the business. We must deliver effective solutions.” He added that the upgrades in the pipeline look promising, especially in aerodynamics, but underscored the need to transfer them to the track quickly.
Stella warned that 2026 seems to be pushing F1 into uncharted territory in terms of performance development and delivery. He noted Red Bull’s extensive upgrades as an example of the new level of competition and said McLaren must both out-develop and out-deliver to close the gap.
When asked where McLaren’s MCL60 is lacking, Stella said the Spielberg weekend confirmed what the team already suspected: a general shortfall in aerodynamic load and efficiency. He also hinted that the squad is still working to maximize the performance of its Mercedes engines, in contrast to the works team. “Our gap to Mercedes has always been between three and four tenths,” he explained, attributing most of the deficit to corners—roughly 70%—with straights accounting for about 30%. He said the lower corner downforce is the primary issue, while the speed deficit on the straights may relate to extra drag and the way the power unit is exploited, noting that the engine is a major factor and that the team is investigating why they remain behind.