Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari put on red alert as F1 title rivals plan new upgrades

McLaren roared back to the front of the field in the last race before the summer break, and have already begun teasing some more upgrade packages before the end of the season.

Technical director Neil Houldey has spoken about the rapid evolution of the MCL40 over the course of the 2026 season, admitting there's a 'good chance' that more upgrades will come after F1 leaves Europe at the end of September, even after a 'substantial' package for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

That warning may - and probably should - strike fear into Mercedes and especially Ferrari, who were ground into the dust by the papaya machine last time out at the Hungaroring.

Houldey also revealed that, instead of big changes to fundamental bodywork pieces, the team are more likely to focus on 'bolt-on' pieces such as the floorboard as they also keep up work on their 2027 concept.

"At the moment," he told the team's website, "we’ve got smaller upgrades arriving at the next sequence of events, and then potentially something more substantial for Baku."

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Houldey explains McLaren learnings since 2026 launch

He explained the team's current philosophy when it comes to figuring out upgrades for a brand new car in 2026, saying: "I think, from an aerodynamic perspective, you've got front wing, rear wing, floor and bodywork, and you know you're going to be looking for upgrades in all of those areas.

"So, I don't think that really changed [having seen other cars]. These were things we knew we needed to focus on, and the team was rewarded by finding performance in those areas.

"I suppose [since launch] we got a better understanding of what the 'bolt-on items' were worth. The floorboard was one; the spat area [the floor in front of the rear wheels] was something else that you can develop during the season without affecting the base floor. We found good performance there.

"And then we also learned a little about how the tyres were working, what they needed in terms of heating and cooling, and that's influenced some of the upgrades we've made. Those areas we only knew required our focus when we started to run the car, understood where we were, understood where we needed to be."

'Good performance opportunities there for the taking'

"After that, it really will depend on whether we find something substantial in aero after the summer break, and whether we think there’s value in doing an end-of-season package, or fully switch to next year’s car.

"It’s an open point at the moment. We’ll be looking at where we are, where our competitors are, and where we see the opportunities. I think there’s a good chance, we’ll have upgrades beyond Baku that can dig more performance out of this car, without impacting 2027.

"It’ll be things, like I just mentioned, that can be bolted-on, or bonded-on, rather than the big, wholesale bodywork upgrades, but still areas in which there’s good performance opportunities there for the taking."

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