F1 news: McLaren to debut ‘completely new car’ in Miami and Canada, confirms Andrea Stella

McLaren will introduce a “completely new car” across the upcoming Miami and Canadian Grands Prix as they look to close the gap to early-season leaders Mercedes.

Team Principal Andrea Stella confirmed that the major upgrade has long been part of the team’s development plan, with a strong focus on aerodynamic improvements.

Speaking about the changes at a media day at the team's headquarters in Woking, he said: “In our intent, there was always the idea to deliver a completely new car - especially from an aerodynamic upgrades point of view - for the North American races so we could keep up with this plan.”

Mixed start but signs of progress

The Woking-based outfit have endured a mixed start to the 2026 campaign.

Despite entering the season as defending champions, McLaren began on the back foot after an intense title battle last year and challenges adapting to the new power unit regulations.

Their struggles were highlighted by a double non-start in China, though performance improved significantly by the time the championship reached Japan.

Oscar Piastri showed that progress with a strong display at Suzuka, where he fought for victory before ultimately finishing second.

That performance has offered encouragement that McLaren’s underlying package has potential, with the upcoming upgrades expected to unlock further gains.

Stella warns rivals will also improve

Stella also pointed to the unusual gap in the race calendar as a key factor in allowing teams to accelerate development.

He said, “Obviously, the fact that the calendar has been changed sort of helped a little bit, like I'm sure helped all the other teams that could work more streamlined towards upgrading the car rather than being busy with racing.”

The Italian, however, cautioned that McLaren’s rivals are likely to bring similar upgrades over the same period.

“Across Miami and Canada, we will see an entirely new MCL40. Again, I would like to stress that this is what I would expect of most of our competitors so [it is] not necessarily going to be a shift in the pecking order, it will be effectively just a check who has been able to add more performance within the same time frame,” he explained.

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America awaits

As Formula 1 heads into its North American swing, McLaren’s upgraded car could prove decisive in shaping their title challenge.

Whether it is enough to overhaul Mercedes remains to be seen, but Miami and Canada are now set to provide the clearest indication yet of the competitive order in 2026.

The Miami GP kicks off the first Americas leg of the season on the weekend of May 1 to May 3.

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