McLaren provide 'very clear' answer to tough question: 'We have a duty'

Andrea Stella has insisted McLaren can still achieve "a great deal" in the second half of the 2026 F1 season, despite its championship hopes having taken a significant hit.

The Woking squad entered the year as back-to-back constructors' champions, having also secured the drivers' title with Lando Norris in 2025. McLaren had previously ended a 26-year wait for the constructors' crown in 2024.

The defence of those titles, however, has proved considerably more difficult.

McLaren sits third in the standings after 11 rounds, with 220 points compared with Mercedes' 379 and Ferrari's 307. Norris is fifth in the drivers' championship on 128 points, 91 behind leader Kimi Antonelli, while Oscar Piastri is seventh on 92.

The team's early-season struggles were compounded by reliability problems and a development deficit, with McLaren having acknowledged that it was playing catch-up to its rivals.

That picture began to change towards the middle of the campaign, however, with updates bringing the MCL40 closer to the front.

A major upgrade package, including a revised floor, arrived in Hungary, where Norris claimed his first grand prix victory of the season.

Asked what McLaren's objectives are for the remainder of the campaign and whether it can still return to the title fight, Stella was unequivocal.

"That's a difficult question, but there's a very clear answer," the team principal said. "If we can continue the season as we did in Budapest, I think we can still achieve a great deal.

"To do so, we must keep pushing with the development of the MCL40 and ensure we outpace our rivals – who certainly aren’t standing still – in this race within the race, which is the competition over updates."

McLaren's performance at the Hungaroring represented a significant step forward, with Norris taking pole before converting it into victory despite losing the lead to team-mate Piastri at the start. The latter subsequently retired with a gearbox failure.

Stella stressed that continued progress will depend on McLaren extracting genuine performance from its forthcoming upgrades.

"The result will depend on how effective the solutions we bring to the track prove to be," he added. "In the first part of the season, we struggled more than we expected in this regard too, but I believe that in recent years, once we’ve gained some momentum, we’ve been able to maintain it."

The gap to Mercedes and Ferrari remains substantial, but McLaren's improved form in Budapest has provided renewed encouragement heading into the second half.

"There are still 12 races left on the calendar, so there are plenty of opportunities given that 546 points are up for grabs," Stella pointed out.

"Of course, the gap in both championships is significant, but we remember last year's lesson well: after all, I always tell the team that if we’ve set up a new display cabinet to house the new, recent trophies at the McLaren Technology Centre, then we have a duty to do our utmost to keep filling it..."