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Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris had to pay the price at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix for McLaren’s MCL40 having a shorter wheelbase, as it created issues throughout the lap.
McLaren will now remember the second round of the 2026 season for Piastri and Norris not being able to start the Chinese GP last Sunday owing to separate issues with their Mercedes engine. But the Shanghai International Circuit also proved fundamental issues with their car.
The Woking natives have produced one of the worst defences of the F1 constructors’ title in recent terms in 2026. McLaren may be third in the standings, but their 18 points leave them trailing Mercedes by 80 points – due also to Piastri’s crash before the Australian Grand Prix.
Piastri was set to be the top McLaren driver on the Chinese GP grid, after qualifying in P5 in front of Norris in P6. But the Australian’s Q3 time was 0.486s off the pace that Andrea Kimi Antonelli set to get pole position, having also been 0.862s off the pace for pole in Australia.
Is Lando Norris’ championship title defence already over?
McLaren’s shorter wheelbase with their 2026 F1 car is not generating enough downforce
McLaren’s lack of competitiveness at the front of the field at last week’s Chinese GP, having also seen Norris qualify P3 but 0.621s off George Russell’s pace for pole for the F1 Sprint, is due to the papaya team still learning how to optimise Mercedes’ engine as well as their car.
READ MORE: 2026 Chinese Grand Prix race report, as Kimi Antonelli scored his first F1 win
That is according to The Race, which claims McLaren’s ‘underdeveloped’ first car built to F1’s 2026 regulations is ‘compromising’ Piastri and Norris. The MCL40 lacks both downforce and aerodynamic efficiency compared to Mercedes’ W17, so they cannot harvest energy as well.
Additionally, McLaren favouring a shorter wheelbase for the MCL40 hands Piastri and Norris a bigger challenge, as their car lacks rear grip in the corners. Russell and Antonelli can utilise Mercedes’ W17 having a more stable platform to regen energy more easily through corners.
McLaren’s issue is that their shorter wheelbase means the MCL40 has a smaller floor, which is generating less downforce. The team designed their car with a smaller floor as they felt it would allow them to move ballast around the car so they could improve its balance window.
The plaudits go to Kimi Antonelli, but who else in the top 10 impressed you at the Chinese Grand Prix?
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GPS data at the Chinese GP showed McLaren’s lack of speed in the corners, as well, as the MCL40’s chassis holds Norris and Piastri back in the medium-to-high speed turns. Russell and Antonelli carried far more speed in the Mercedes W17, especially in the opening corners.
McLaren now need to work on chassis and aerodynamic updates quickly if Norris and Piastri are to start fighting Mercedes, as well as Ferrari, for podium finishes before they can start to consider race wins. The MCL40’s shorter wheelbase and floor are simply holding them back.
It is suggested that the MCL40’s shortcomings at the Chinese GP may see Norris and Piastri compete at the top of the timesheets at the Monaco Grand Prix in June. But McLaren’s car is not strong enough to rival Mercedes at a more comparable circuit for most of the calendar.
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