Despite a rocky start to his team’s 2026 campaign in F1, Andrea Stella isn’t backing away from McLaren’s biggest ambition. Not even close.
The reigning Constructors’ champions entered the season 2026 carrying the weight of expectation after its triumphant run in 2025, only for the opening rounds to expose just how fragile Formula 1 momentum can be.
Reliability setbacks, inconsistent pace and a disastrous double non-start in China threatened to derail the papaya squad before the season had truly settled into rhythm.
But in Miami, McLaren finally looked alive again.
Lando Norris stormed to a Sprint victory on Saturday in the upgraded MCL40, while Norris and Oscar Piastri followed it up with a double podium on Sunday – the team’s strongest overall weekend of the year so far.
Commitment to 2026 title intact
While Stella remains cautious about reading too much into one circuit, the Italian made one thing unmistakably clear: McLaren still fully intend to defend their crown.
“I think if we now start to consider championships at the end of the season, then I think we need to be a bit careful because we are just at the fourth race,” he explained in Miami.
“We have just delivered our first upgrade, we are in Miami and McLaren looks like they traditionally have done very well in Miami, so it could be that the way we develop our cars kind of suits this circuit, so we will have to see more.
©McLaren
“But at the same time, because it's only the fourth race and we have scored a good chunk of points even compared to Mercedes, we know that we can further develop our car.
“We have said already before Miami that the championship is not a sign-off, so our logic is to look at the long term, try and defend the championship, but as soon as we say that, we come back in the present and we do the right thing today because there's really not much point in thinking so far forward, but definitely we want to defend the championship.”
Miami relief – but no illusions
That final line carried the tone of a team refusing to surrender to early-season turbulence.
McLaren currently sit third in the Constructors’ standings on 94 points, while Norris and Piastri occupy fourth and sixth respectively in the Drivers’ Championship. Hardly disastrous – but not where a reigning champion expects to be after four rounds.
The encouraging reality for Stella is that the upgraded MCL40 finally showed signs of consistency in Miami after flashes of promise in Japan, where Piastri dragged an underperforming car onto the podium.
Now McLaren believe development can begin to shift momentum.
Still, Stella knows the challenge ahead is fierce, especially with Mercedes and their teenage sensation continuing to apply pressure at the front.
Stella salutes Antonelli – but backs McLaren’s driver strength
While discussing the championship fight, Stella took time to praise current Drivers’ Championship leader Kimi Antonelli for his explosive emergence at Mercedes.
“I think we should really pay credit to the quality of the driving, the consistency, the speed in both a single lap in the race and overall execution. We should pay credit to what Kimi is showing and is actually delivering on track,” said Stella.
“I would have said after testing that George [Russell] was in a stronger position, which was the case until Australia, but for some reason things seem to have turned around.
“Once again, I think this is thanks to the good work that Kimi must be doing with his engineers and with the people around him.
“There's always a group of people around the driver, and success comes because this synergy works. I think Kimi must be having all these conditions in place. Well done to Kimi, well done to Mercedes.”
But even while acknowledging Antonelli’s rise, Stella made it clear he believes McLaren possess a decisive advantage elsewhere – their driver pairing.
“At the same time, I think we have seen for McLaren that in Japan, with a car that wasn't competitive yet, Oscar was in condition to fight for the win again and score a podium,” he said.
“Oscar, confirming a podium finish here, and Lando, one win in the Sprint and in the fight for the victory here.
Read also: Zak Brown hints McLaren could unleash its own ‘Macarena’ wing
“I think when we look in particular at the Constructors’ Championship, I think we are, from a driver's point of view, probably the strongest pair. We want to capitalise on this strength that we have at McLaren, but we need to make the car a little bit faster.”
That may be the most revealing sentence of all.
McLaren are not panicking. They are not talking like a team clinging desperately to fading hopes. Instead, Stella’s message is pointed and deliberate: the foundations remain intact, the drivers remain elite, and the car still has room to grow.
Now comes the hard part – proving Miami was the beginning of McLaren’s title defence, not merely a brief reprieve from a difficult start.
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