Mercedes rivals have predicted that Barcelona Grand Prix will transform their season

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Mercedes are in a league of their own and are being tipped to dominate again in Barcelona, but McLaren have hopes that their season will turn around this weekend.

Mercedes continued their dominance in 2026 at the Monaco GP as Kimi Antonelli claimed his fifth win in a row. The Silver Arrows are leaving everyone behind this year, including their customer teams.

It has been a tough start to the season for McLaren, with the defending champions grabbing only three Grand Prix podiums thus far. Lando Norris did win the Sprint in Miami, but they are already 126 points behind Mercedes.

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McLaren hope to transform their 2026 season with Barcelona upgrades

McLaren were ‘very excited’ about their upgrades for the Monaco GP, but the team could not maximise them. Oscar Piastri and Norris qualified P7 and P8 behind the Mercedes, Ferraris and Red Bulls.

Piastri would go on to finish fourth after a plethora of retirements and penalties. Norris was among the DNFs, with the Brit suffering another power unit failure.

McLaren have been struggling with reliability under the new regulations, with Norris now suffering back-to-back mechanical retirements, and neither car started in China due to separate issues. Mark Webber says there are ‘mice in the machinery’ in Woking.

READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

Norris says McLaren cannot ‘expect’ podiums at the moment with all their problems. But as Natalie Pinkham notes, the team are optimistic that things can turn around in Barcelona.

Many still expect Mercedes to be the dominant force, but McLaren hope to transform their campaign on a track that is suited to their power unit.

Pinkham said via The F1 Show: “Mercedes could potentially be in a league of their own, even more so in Barcelona.

“Talking to the other drivers, they felt the signs were ominous because Barcelona was a track that lent itself much more to power, which has always been the Mercedes advantage.

“And as Crofty says, it is a track they know so well. It’s also a track that we can get a real read on where everyone is, but it’s also a track that McLaren said will turn their season around.”

A championship seems to be out of the question for the team, as Andrea Stella thinks McLaren’s 2024 trajectory is better than 2026. But considering the turnaround McLaren had that year, a repeat of it might not be out of the question.