Andrea Stella chose to keep his feet on the ground when it comes to McLaren fighting for the 2026 Formula 1 season title and said it is best to be cautious.
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Mercedes started the championship dominating and winning all four races so far. However, the Woking team began a recovery in Miami and Lando Norris won the Sprint, with the Briton and Oscar Piastri finishing second and third in the United States.
However, with less than 20% of the campaign completed so far, Stella said it is still early to put McLaren in the fight for the 2026 F1 title. “I think if we start thinking about championships at the end of the season, we need to be a bit cautious,” he said.
“We are only in our fourth race. We have just delivered our first update. McLaren seems to have done very well in Miami, as usual. So, it may be that the way we develop our cars suits these circuits. We need to see more,” he said.
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“But at the same time, it’s only the fourth race and we have already scored a good amount of points, even compared to Mercedes. We know we can develop our car even more. We said before Miami that the championship is not guaranteed. So, our logic is to look long term, try to defend the championship.”
“But as soon as we say that, we come back to the present and do the right thing today, because it really doesn’t make much sense to think so far ahead. But, without a doubt, we want to defend the championship,” he concluded.
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