F1 2026 mid-season grades: McLaren starts on back foot but makes rapid progress

Motorsport photo McLaren faced the challenge over following up its back-to-back world titles across an entirely different set of regulations. On paper, it felt like the Woking-based squad was well equipped to do so, but a combination of its 2025 title race hangover and its challenges exploiting Mercedes' power unit have put it on the back foot this year. But a typical, mid-season McLaren surge has salvaged a B- grade. The bad New rules. New rulers. With the onset of the 2026 era dominated by power units, it was perhaps no great surprise that the Mercedes works team stole a march on the field, including its own customers, with the exploitation of the complicated new hybrids. But, crucially, McLaren was also playing catch-up from day one on the chassis and aero front, a scenario the team was seemingly bracing for. Max Verstappen's shocking comeback in what was looking like a straightforward intra-team title fight forced McLaren to pour more resources into 2025 than it was hoping to, compromising the 2026 project. Add a change of aero concept halfway through, and McLaren turned up with a 2026 car that by its estimation was two to three months behind its direct rivals in terms of aerodynamic development. That was obvious from day one, as Mercedes rolled out a much superior car while Ferrari, despite its engine handicap, appeared to be second in the pecking order with an SF-26 that was ahead of McLaren's MCL40. Oscar Piastri, McLaren Oscar Piastri, McLaren Through little fault of its own, McLaren fell dramatically behind in the title fight by not even making three of its first four starts. Oscar Piastri spun out on a reconnaissance lap in Australia, after an unexpected power spike from the engine, while both he and Lando Norris suffered electric issues that prevented them from starting in China. As a result McLaren finds itself in third place at the halfway point, its 220 points trailing leader Mercedes by a huge 159-point margin, which seems nearly impossible to overcome. The good Starting on the back foot meant McLaren had to fall back on what it does best, outperforming the competition back at the factory. Having clawed its way back to the front on several occasions in recent seasons, most notably in 2024 when its Miami upgrade turned it into F1's team to beat, the squad sang from a similar hymn sheet. On the back of a better weekend in Japan, where Piastri scored second, a split Miami-Montreal package saw a noticeable uptick in competitiveness, even if the new front wing concept needed more time in the oven to be exploited fully. Norris won Miami's sprint before the team clinched a double podium in the grand prix, though subsequent races only further confirmed the team needed a few more rounds of upgrades to compete with Mercedes on a regular basis. That upgrade arrived in the shape of a redesigned floor for Hungary, alongside the latest iteration of its front wing, and it enabled Norris and Piastri to squabble over victory, with the former deservedly clinching his first grand prix win as the reigning world champion. Whether or not the team can confirm that step forward remains to be seen, but it certainly headed into the summer break with a more positive outlook for the rest of the year. Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Andrea Stella, McLaren, Lando Norris, McLaren Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Andrea Stella, McLaren, Lando Norris, McLaren What they're saying Andrea Stella, team principal: "The improvement can be entirely ascribed to the upgrades that we took [to Hungary]. Honestly, I still believe that if we want to be in a position to fight for victories consistently in the future, we need to keep our focus on delivering more upgrades. That is the plan, but we are not naive. We know that this will be the plan for all the teams. It's a matter of a race of upgrades. "The good news is that McLaren is now back in this race of upgrades while fighting for the lead. But I expect that the car that will be the best car at the end of the season will keep adding tenths of a second in the next 11 races, probably as much as half a second. So, definitely a lot of work ahead of everyone, not only McLaren." To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.