McLaren admit F1 car weakness cannot be fixed until 2027

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says the team will have to wait until 2027 to fully address one of the MCL40’s main handling problems.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have both struggled with the car’s behaviour this season and, while McLaren will continue developing it over the final six races, Stella says adding downforce will not solve the underlying issue.

“I don’t expect that what’s coming to the car will improve this characteristic,” Stella said. “I think we need something more fundamental than simply adding some downforce to the car like it’s happening in the coming races.”

McLaren looking to MCL41 for fix

Stella said more fundamental changes are being considered for next year’s MCL41, describing that car as the earliest opportunity to address the problem properly.

The characteristic has required both drivers to adapt how they drive the MCL40. Norris says the car needs to be forced through corners rather than allowing either the front or rear to work naturally, making it difficult to put complete laps together. Piastri’s smoother driving style has presented a different problem. Stella has previously explained that the Australian’s natural inputs are not always suited to what the current car requires.

McLaren can still find lap time from the MCL40 this season. The distinction from Stella is that those gains will not necessarily make it easier to drive.

Norris wants more after Singapore

The issue was again apparent at the Singapore Grand Prix, where Norris finished fourth and Piastri fifth. Norris was more than 40 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen and said afterwards that McLaren had “slipped to the back of the top four”.

“We’re the fourth fastest team,” he said, although he felt fourth was the best result available to him at Marina Bay.

McLaren nevertheless scored with both cars, with Piastri taking fifth after passing Lewis Hamilton late on. Our Singapore Grand Prix report has the full race result.

Red Bull is now seven points behind McLaren in the constructors’ standings after Verstappen won consecutive races at Sepang and Singapore. The season resumes at the United States Grand Prix on 23–25 October, the first of the six races remaining in 2026.

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