Two consecutive wins in Budapest and Zandvoort have put McLaren back in the conversation at the front of Formula 1. But Andrea Stella refuses to get carried away, insisting Monza will be the real test for the MCL40 to prove whether their progress is genuine or just a fleeting moment.
The 2026 season start was far from smooth for McLaren. Limited understanding of the Mercedes power unit in Australia caused early struggles, and even a double DNS in China. However, back-to-back victories in Hungary and the Netherlands have cut Lando Norris's gap to championship leader Kimi Antonelli to 83 points, reigniting hopes of defending his title.
Despite that, Stella keeps his feet on the ground. "Our approach is one race at a time. There's not much more you can influence than maximising what's next available," he told Motorsport.com. "The next race is Monza. If you compare the demands of Zandvoort and Hungary with Monza, it's a completely different regime."
Monza, with its high-speed layout and low downforce, is the opposite of the Hungaroring and Zandvoort, which are full of medium-speed corners. At the last two tracks, McLaren could exploit the MCL40's strengths, but Norris admitted the car's low-speed corner performance was "nowhere near good enough" on Saturday.
At Monza, long straights and chicanes dominate. This demands a completely different aerodynamic balance. Stella sees this as the most important test yet for McLaren. "Monza is also 'energy-starved', so energy management will play a much bigger role again. It's not just about speed, but also about how we understand the power unit," he added.
This was exactly the area where McLaren was significantly behind the Mercedes works team at the start of the year. Progress has been made since, including with the long-awaited simulation tools received for Spa, but Monza will show just how significant that progress really is at a track that truly tests power efficiency.
If McLaren can be competitive at Monza, then talk of a title challenge becomes more than just hope. If they fail, their status as title contenders will be questioned again.
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