McLaren believes it has found a simpler way to divide its resources between the current car and the 2027 project in Formula 1. Team principal Andrea Stella assesses that his team does not face the same dilemma experienced during the development of the MCL40.
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With the 2026 season entering its second half, the team needs to decide how much investment will continue to be directed to the current car while starting work on the next project. According to Stella, the transition is more manageable because the changes planned for 2027 are considerably smaller than the major technical overhaul introduced this year.
The situation contrasts with last season, when McLaren had to balance the fight for the drivers’ and constructors’ championships with preparing for a new generation of cars. Lando Norris won the title in 2025, while the team also secured the constructors’ championship for the second consecutive year, but the focus on the championship fight hindered preparation for the 2026 changes.
“This year it is easier to find a middle ground between the two needs. In 2025, we needed to find a balance between pushing the championship fight to the limit and designing a car practically from scratch. This year, the transition between the two projects is much smoother, since the regulation changes are relatively small,” said Stella.
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The McLaren boss also believes that the work done on the MCL40 will continue to be useful for the development of its successor. As the current generation is still in an early phase, both in the chassis and the power unit, the data obtained throughout 2026 could contribute to the 2027 project.
It will still be necessary to manage the budget cap, wind tunnel hours, computational simulations, and resource distribution between development and production. Even so, Stella considers that McLaren is in a favorable position to advance in this next stage: “I believe we are in a good position on all these fronts,” he concluded.
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