McLaren Plans Upgrades to Close Gap at Hungarian GP

McLaren Formula 1 team principal Andrea Stella has outlined a major upgrade plan aimed at closing a significant performance gap to rivals Mercedes and Ferrari, with the first wave of improvements targeted for the Hungarian Grand Prix at the end of July. The reigning Constructors' champions are currently 154 points behind championship leaders Mercedes and have yet to win a race this season, securing only four podium finishes.

The team's deficit was evident at the recent British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where Lando Norris finished fourth and Oscar Piastri placed 11th. Stella described Norris's result as an "overachievement," attributing it to problems for other drivers rather than McLaren's own pace. He estimated the car's performance gap to the front-runners at around half a second per lap. Norris echoed the sentiment, calling his car "undriveable" and "one of the hardest" he has driven in Formula 1, while acknowledging the result was aided by the misfortunes of others.

Stella pinpointed the core issue as a delay in the team's development program during 2025, a period when the squad was deeply engaged in a tight championship fight. He explained that this caused a loss of...