McLaren vows 'completely new car'

McLaren says it will roll out an “entirely new MCL40” across the Miami and Canadian Grands Prix after Formula 1’s five-week spring break. (formula1.com) Team principal Andrea Stella said the plan had always been to deliver a “completely new car,” especially in aerodynamic terms, for the North American races. He said the extra time created by the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix not taking place helped teams work “more streamlined” toward upgrades. (formula1.com) (autosport.com) Stella also cautioned that Miami may not scramble the order on its own. He said he expects “most” rivals to arrive with similar development pushes, making the next two rounds a test of which team has added the most performance in the same window. (formula1.com) (autosport.com) The phrase “new car” does not mean McLaren is abandoning the 2026 rule set a few races into the season. It means the team is changing enough of the MCL40’s aerodynamic surfaces and related hardware that the package arriving in Miami and Canada will differ sharply from the version used in Australia, China and Japan. (formula1.com 1) (formula1.com 2) Those changes matter more in 2026 because Formula 1 has overhauled both the bodywork and the power units. The cars are shorter, narrower and lighter, the old long ground-effect tunnels are gone, and active aerodynamic flaps now switch between cornering and low-drag straight-line modes. (formula1.com) McLaren opened the season on the back foot after a late 2025 title fight and the work needed to integrate the new Mercedes power unit. Stella said the team started 2026 with an underdeveloped car, and both McLarens failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix before Oscar Piastri recovered to finish second in Japan behind Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli. (formula1.com 1) (formula1.com 2) The April pause gave McLaren time to work on both the car and the engine tools with Mercedes High Performance Powertrains. Stella said the team knew what it needed on the chassis side and that the job was to bring upgrades that improve aerodynamic efficiency. (formula1.com) Miami will also be the first race under fresh FIA refinements to the 2026 rules agreed on April 20. Those changes include reduced maximum recharge in qualifying from 8 megajoules to 7, a rise in peak superclip power to 350 kilowatts from 250, and new race-start safety systems. (formula1.com) McLaren arrives third in the teams’ standings, 89 points behind Mercedes, according to Formula 1’s April 23 report. Stella said the target for Miami and Canada is a “slightly more competitive MCL40,” with the real measure coming when the updated car finally hits the track against everyone else’s new parts. (formula1.com)