Andrea Stella shares why McLaren are less ‘convinced’ they can repeat Lando Norris title turnaround

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McLaren still feel they can feature in the 2026 F1 title fight with a turnaround in form like Lando Norris had in 2024, but Andrea Stella sees two reasons why it is less likely.

McLaren started 2026 as the reigning drivers’ and constructors’ champions, after Norris won his first F1 title last season. But McLaren have been unable to threaten the early dominance that Mercedes have enjoyed, as the MCL40 has largely lacked speed and reliability this term.

Mercedes ace Andrea Kimi Antonelli now leads the 2026 F1 drivers’ standings on 156 points, while reigning champion Norris sits sixth on 58 points after his third failure to finish a race to date. Antonelli has even led 240 Grand Prix laps, while Norris has only completed 249 so far.

Yet McLaren boss Stella looks back at 2024 for a source of inspiration, after they overturned a difficult start to win their first F1 constructors’ title since 1998. McLaren trailed Red Bull by 115 points after the first six rounds in 2024, yet sealed a 192-point swing against their rivals.

Is Kimi Antonelli about to run away with the championship, or will it be close?

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Andrea Stella admits McLaren’s 2024 ‘trajectory’ was ‘more convincing’ than in 2026

Also, Norris fought Max Verstappen for the 2024 F1 drivers’ title thanks to McLaren’s swing in form. So, Stella is embracing the same mindset at McLaren in 2026 as they adopted back in 2024, as the papaya outfit now strive to overcome a difficult start to the new regulations.

READ MORE: Lando Norris’ first F1 drivers’ title in 2025 was defined by seven key moments

However, Stella admits that McLaren’s early reliability problems in 2026, after Norris retired from the Monaco GP last Sunday, and the current performance levels of the MCL40 must be fixed. The MCL40 does not inspire McLaren as much as the MCL38 did, even at its worst.

“We remain with the mindset that this could be another 2024, in terms of catching up at the end,” McLaren team principal Stella said, via quotes by The Race.

“But in 2024, our trajectory from reliability and performance was more convincing. So, if we want to stay in the championship, we need to have a turnaround.”

McLaren faced their biggest deficit to Red Bull in the 2024 standings after that year’s Miami Grand Prix, which Norris won to spark his team’s turnaround that ultimately led them to the constructors’ title. McLaren even beat Ferrari by 14 points, rather than Red Bull, to the title.

It remains to be seen how far McLaren will now fall behind Mercedes at their worst in 2026, with the Woking crew already 126 points behind their rivals from Brackley. The Silver Arrows also do not look likely of letting their early dominance under the new F1 regulations slip yet.

McLaren capitalised on Red Bull struggling to further develop a dominant car in 2024 while they finally found a way to succeed in the ground-effect era, which even ultimately carried on in 2025 when they won both titles. Now, McLaren must master a new set of regulations and improve their reliability, and hope that Mercedes start to show any signs of weakness.

Along with Norris’ did not start in China plus retirements in Canada and Monaco, teammate Oscar Piastri failed to make the start in Shanghai owing to a separate electronics issue with their customer Mercedes engine. Piastri also crashed on his way to the grid in Australia, and he failed to get a point in the Canadian Grand Prix in part due to starting on the wrong tyres.