McLaren set for more 2026 upgrades after losing ground on F1 rivals

McLaren chief Andrea Stella has revealed that the team are set to introduce more upgrades to the MCL40 before the end of the season as they look to fend off Red Bull and secure P3 in the constructors' championship.

Stella's comments came after a bruising weekend for the team in Austin, Texas, where Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished P5 and P7, respectively, and were once again off the pace of Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari.

That has been something of a trend in recent grands prix, despite the team looking as though they would be the ones fighting Mercedes for race victories at the back end of this year when Lando Norris took back-to-back wins in Hungary and the Netherlands during the summer.

Andrea Stella confirms McLaren upgrades on the way

McLaren now face a major task in being able to secure third spot in the constructors' championship, which looked a comfortable task until Red Bull's recent resurgence.

To combat that, McLaren team principal Stella says that upgrades are on the way, although they will not have any new parts for this weekend's grand prix in Mexico City.

"There will be some more stuff coming," Stella confirmed in Austin. "I think ultimately we will only be able to do so across Brazil and Vegas.

"So Mexico, there won't be very much, but Brazil and Vegas, there will be some upgrades."

"Hopefully, this will help us to, like I said before, be consistently in the fight for podiums and hopefully start to lean on the level of competitiveness that is required to fight for the victory, so there's a few upgrades that are still in the pipeline," he concluded.

Constructors' standings ahead of Mexican GP

Here is how the full picture looks in the constructors' championship heading to Mexico City, with Red Bull and McLaren neck and neck with five races to go.

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Written by

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson - F1 Editor

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