Andrea Stella provides a significant clue regarding McLaren’s genuine speed as they approach the Singapore Grand Prix.
After the tumultuous rescheduled 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix held in Sepang, Malaysia, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella is seeking to understand the team's peculiar drop in performance.
While Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull Racing displayed remarkable speed on the Sepang circuit, reigning 2025 World Champion Lando Norris and McLaren appeared to struggle to keep up with their advancements. Nonetheless, Stella is not panicking, suggesting that the challenging Sepang track surface generated misleading data.
Stella puzzled by the data
In a media debrief following the race, Stella conceded that McLaren was taken by surprise by the bold upgrades introduced by competitor teams, but asserted that their car wasn’t necessarily failing.
"We don’t observe any anomalies in our data, but we must recognize that some competitors may have made larger strides in their car's development than we did," Stella clarified.
Andrea Stella, McLaren
He particularly highlighted Lewis Hamilton's remarkable comeback drive in the Ferrari as evidence of the Scuderia's sudden performance boost.
"And also here Ferrari, they were exceptionally strong," Stella observed. "I think you can see that [Lewis] Hamilton was out there with Lando [Norris] and managed to gain several positions during the race, indicating that he was certainly one of the top cars on the track."
Anticipating Singapore for the "true" performance
Rather than label it a crisis, Stella believes the extreme track conditions and unusual tire behavior in Sepang render the Bahrain Grand Prix an outlier.
"The conditions here in Bahrain are quite unique, so we need to comprehend the behavior of the cars better," he cautioned.
As the grid prepares to head directly to the Marina Bay Street Circuit, the McLaren principal is hopeful that the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix will finally clarify the true hierarchy for 2026.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren
"Personally, I can’t say if Singapore will be more conducive or not because from a track layout perspective, we anticipated Bahrain would be a decent circuit for us," Stella admitted. "And this is due to the uncertainty brought on by the new competitive scenario, as well as our need to better understand our own upgrades. Singapore will provide us with... clearer insights."
With additional upgrades planned for the final part of the season, McLaren will rely on the data from Singapore to enable Lando Norris to at least contend with Mercedes.
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