Andrea Stella drops major hint about McLaren’s true pace ahead of Singapore GP

Following the chaotic relocated 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella is trying to make sense of the team's bizarre performance dip.

While Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing showcased massive pace on the Sepang asphalt, reigning 2025 World Champion Lando Norris and McLaren seemingly struggled to match their development leaps. But Stella is refusing to panic, suggesting that the abrasive Sepang track surface created highly misleading data.

During a post-race media debrief, Stella admitted that McLaren was caught off guard by the aggressive upgrades brought by rival teams, but insisted its own car wasn't necessarily failing.

"We don't see any anomaly in our data, but we have to acknowledge that potentially some competitors have developed their car with bigger steps than we did," Stella explained.

Photo by: Eric Le Galliot

He specifically pointed to Lewis Hamilton's impressive recovery drive in the Ferrari as proof of the Scuderia's sudden leap in performance.

"And also here Ferrari, they were very very strong," Stella noted. "I think you see that like [Lewis] Hamilton was out there with Lando [Norris] and from that position he managed to recover several positions overtaking cars through the race, meaning that he was definitely one of the best cars out there".

Rather than declare a crisis, Stella believes the extreme track surface and bizarre tire behaviour in Sepang make the Bahrain Grand Prix a complete outlier.

"It's a very special condition here in Bahrain, so I think we'll have to understand where are the behaviour of the cars," he cautioned.

With the grid now packing up and heading straight to the Marina Bay Street Circuit, the McLaren boss believes the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix will finally reveal the true 2026 pecking order.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Joe Portlock / Getty Images

"Personally not in condition to say if Singapore will be now more suitable or not because from a track layout point of view we thought that here would be a decent circuit for us," Stella admitted. "And this [is] because of the uncertainty caused by the new scenario from a competitiveness point of view, but also because we might have to understand a bit better the upgrades that we took ourselves. And Singapore will give us... a better answer."

With a few more upgrades planned for the final stretch of the season, McLaren will need that Singapore data to ensure Lando Norris can at least try to compete with Mercedes.

Formula 1Andrea Stella concedes McLaren made "incorrect judgment" on Bahrain GP Strategy

Formula 1Andrea Stella: F1 must avoid Sepang repeat, but "accept occasional glitches"

Formula 1Andrea Stella explains recurring Lando Norris straightline speed issue after Bahrain GP qualifying

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