McLaren’s world-beat F1 strength can avoid 2026 shake-up

McLaren The team’s principal Andrea Stella feels that there are some philosophy that made their 2025 F1 car so successful, it can be taken to all new rules of 2026.

In 2026, the F1 is moving away from a heavy dependence on the ground effect, returning to cars with a flat underfall and reducing the downforce level, while the internal combustion engine and a very large electrical element uses active aircraft on strats to compensate for about 50–50 partitions between the engine and a very large electrical element.

The new rules have been billed as one of the biggest regulation changes in F1 history, providing a unique opportunity for organizations that have struggled to make a big jump from 2022. But when all teams start with a clean sheet, it does not mean that some elements that make McLaren so successful in the last 18 months will suddenly become obsolete.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, especially, the team’s boss Stella believes that there are many universal principles of McLaren’s design philosophy, which have made their recent cars so successful, making the team a good place next year.

“I think there are some things that move independently of technical rules, and I hope it would be a good position for McLaren,” Stela said. “There are technical basic things with which we pursued aerodynamic efficiency, interaction with tires, skilled cooling. It is universal.

Steella is also distinguishing information related to current rules from the procedures that helped the team to pursue the order at a rapid pace. While McLaren and its competitive floors are moving away from the downforce and the rules that dominate the very low ride heights, which fully take advantage of them, the capabilities have allowed the Woking-based squad to manufacture class-leading cars in the last two sessions.

Italian said, “Know that 2026 is a part of being transferable to work and knows how to renew it is a part of it.” “Now we know how we can do aerodynamic efficiency on this generation of cars, but it is a result of many, many elements, recurrences, knowledge. A part of which is relevant to this floor, which works in ground effect with fence and side wings, but the floor of the next year is completely different. So you will have to find out again.

“But some aspects of the functioning or how you generate this knowledge, I think it will be transferable. Therefore, the fundamental reasons that we are now in this strong position, I think there is a large amount that is transferable, and a certain amount that will be lost in any way.