McLaren is set to bring an upgrade to the upcoming Miami GP which will boost the MCL38’s performance tenfold, per team principal Andrea Stella. The Woking-based outfit stole the show in China last weekend, thanks to Lando Norris‘ P2 finish and now they look to add on it with the upgrade in Miami.
Norris finished P2 but what was even more surprising was the fact that Sergio Perez’s Red Bull was not able to close the gap to him. Norris held Perez off for 17 laps on a track where Stella thought McLaren would struggle. Their race pace has improved considerably and the upcoming upgrade could ramp up progress even further.
Stella revealed that the expectations surrounding the upcoming upgrades are very high. As quoted by Formu1a.uno.
“We’ll see how they behave on the track, but we expect them to allow us to take a notable step forward.”
McLaren has already closed the gap to Red Bull by some margin and with further progress they could challenge the Milton-Keynes-based team for wins. On the other hand, mounting pressure on Ferrari is a certainty. The British outfit will also look to improve on their tire-heating issues with the new upgrade, something the team’s engineers are sure will get better.
Currently, McLaren is P3 in the Constructors’ Championship standings, 55 points behind Ferrari. While a battle for P2 is on the cards, the papaya outfit’s main aim would be to eventually get the better of reigning World Champions Red Bull.
Can McLaren put pressure on Red Bull in 2026?
McLaren has Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri as its drivers- two young talents who are looking to compete for the World Championship. Unfortunately for them, it looks like a far-fetched reality in 2024 or 2025, unless McLaren makes some miraculous strides.
On the other hand, McLaren also has Ferrari to keep an eye out for. The Maranello-based outfit currently has the better of its Woking-based rivals (in terms of Championship standings) but upgrades could bring the gap closer.
Stella feels that in the last one year, McLaren has developed its car better than anyone else on the grid. If they keep the momentum going, catching Red Bull won’t be a distant dream.
McLaren is set to bring in three major upgrades this season. The first one arrives in Miami, but Andrea Stella hasn’t revealed the dates for the two subsequent upgrades. Through these, it could overtake Ferrari, depending on the Italian team’s progress and also have Red Bull looking over its shoulder.
