McLaren to Accelerate Upgrade Programme and Match Ferrari Pace by Season End

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the squad is "redirecting" its development timetable, acknowledging that aerodynamic upgrades take one to two months to materialise. He expects the first results of the new direction at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with further upgrades planned for the rest of the season. CEO Zak Brown pledged that McLaren will match Ferrari’s upgrade count by the end of the 2026 season, noting that the team has introduced the few new components compared with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. Several upgrades, including an upside‑down rear wing intended for Austria and later Britain, were postponed because they did not meet performance standards; the team now looks to debut the part at the Belgian Grand Prix. McLaren will continue to run the Mercedes power unit and will receive its ADUO updates when the scheduled engine change occurs. The team hopes the accelerated development will close the performance gap to the leading rivals and improve results after a strong but isolated second place in Miami.

Stella explained, "During the development, I think we adopted some directions … we are redirecting," while Brown added, "We have just as many upgrades coming, we just haven’t put them on the race car yet because they’re not quite at the level that we’d like it to be before we produce the parts."