F1 champion McLaren handed shock verdict in title defence pursuit

McLaren has been dealt a blow in its hunt to defend its F1 title, as fans believe the team will be the slowest out of the top four squads.

The Woking-based squad enjoyed a highly successful 2025 campaign and walked away from the season with the drivers' and constructors' titles in hand.

However, a major regulation change has dented fans' faith that it will remain at the head of the pecking order.

It is Mercedes who has been declared the favourite ahead of the new F1 season after logging the highest count of laps across the testing period despite running into a handful of mechanical gremlins.

However, the W17 challenger also showed promising pace during the test, and much intrigue surrounds the potential of the power unit amid the compression ratio debacle that has rival teams concerned.

In a recent poll, RacingNews365 asked you, the fans, who you believe will be leading the F1 pack heading into the new season.

While Mercedes narrowly edged out the vote with 35 per cent, McLaren slumped to the bottom of the vote with just 10 per cent of the share.

Ferrari, however, was hot on the heels of Mercedes in the poll as the Italian squad seeks to put an end to its title drought.

With the season getting underway in just over one week, there is not long to go before the key question is answered.

See the full poll results below!