Andrea Stella confirms McLaren have addressed the problem that was stopping them winning in 2026

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McLaren are looking to bounce back after a difficult start to the 2026 season, and they look to have addressed one of their biggest concerns so far.

For the reigning champions, the start to the season has been far from ideal. McLaren have finished just one race with both their drivers crossing the finish line.

Undoubtedly, the biggest issue for McLaren has been the Mercedes power unit. McLaren couldn’t understand the power unit, struggling with the most basic aspects of the Mercedes-designed unit.

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In their attempts to make progress over the season hiatus, McLaren reportedly found weaknesses in the power unit that they looked to overcome.

While some suggested McLaren tried blaming Mercedes for their lack of performance, these claims could be proven false if Andrea Stella’s recent comments about their development are to be believed.

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Andrea Stella confirms McLaren are  ‘more prepared’ to utilise Mercedes power unit ahead of Miami GP

Andrea Stella addressed the media recently ahead of the Miami Grand Prix. In comments to RacingNews365, along with other outlets, he did confirm that the team had made progress on the Mercedes power unit.

He noted that McLaren have managed to make a lot of progress with the power unit, and now sit far more comfortably than they did with their understanding at the start of the season.

“I can also confirm that in terms of working with HPP, in terms of developing the simulation tools, we have made a significant step forward compared to where we were in Australia, and as a team, we are now much more prepared.

“Whilst at the start of the season, a deficit might have existed for the natural consequence of being a customer team when the programme was so pushed, it was something we were ready to accept.

“We processed very constructively with HPP, but now, later in the season, I think we have filled this gap, and we should have all the tools which are required to extract the most from the power unit.”

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McLaren looking to make sure new regulation changes are accounted for ahead of Miami Grand Prix

Speaking further during the media briefing, Stella noted that the simulations have helped them understand the new regulation changes and how the power unit can be best-utilised under the new rules.

“Like we have seen from the simulations, to a certain extent, we will be able to predict the behaviour of the power unit once we apply the new regulations.

“You have to be forward-thinking in terms of considering everything which can happen and make sure the way in which you exploit the power unit is the most optimal, but I am quite confident we can achieve this with the current simulations.”

If everything Stella said is accurate, and McLaren have made a great deal of progress with the power unit, then they could be a real threat to Mercedes, and to a lesser extent, Ferrari this weekend and going forward.