McLaren rolls the dice on Austin upgrades, but no ‘magic’ expected

McLaren arrives in Austin hoping a package of MCL40 upgrades can halt its slide after collecting just 33 points across the last three races in Azerbaijan, Malaysia and Singapore.

With six rounds remaining, the reigning Constructors’ champions need to recover their competitive edge while gathering development data for 2027.

Team principal Andrea Stella insists the response to the difficult triple-header must be practical and collective.

"After a difficult triple-header, we take the lessons learned from both our performance and execution and put them into action.

“In Formula 1, success is never guaranteed – so our response is to keep building, keep developing, and keep pushing forward together as one team."

A targeted package, not a miracle cure

McLaren chief technical officer Rob Marshall believes Austin may suit the car better, but the changes are limited. COTA’s fast corners and kerbs place heavy demands on the machinery, making reliability a key concern alongside speed.

"The Circuit of The Americas is physically demanding for driver and car. The series of high-speed corners with temping kerbs generate high loads, which can unsettle the driver and cause damage,” Marshall explained.

"We're bringing a modest selection of upgrades for this event, aimed at improving some braking reliability and performance issues. We also have some small floor changes to test. We have all seen how difficult it is to predict the relative performance of the top teams over the last five or six races.

"Obviously, there are many factors in play here: cars being upgraded, cars suiting and drivers liking certain circuits among other factors. The last few races have not been great for us, but I think we're getting stronger again and Austin is probably a better circuit for our car.”

Piastri warns against expecting instant answers

Marshall’s guarded optimism contrasts with Oscar Piastri’s view that McLaren is unlikely to fix its underlying problems this season. The Australian has found the 2026 cars and tyres difficult to master.

“I don’t think we’re going to have any magic answers this year,” the Aussie told reporters.

“The cars themselves are very different. The tyres are quite different as well, so that’s not going to change anytime soon. I’m definitely making progress, [but] it’s still not as comfortable as I would like.”

Piastri says the MCL40’s performance can swing dramatically from one session to the next.

“Either you’re quite a way off or you’re really fast. There’s not really an in-between,” he said.

Asked what is behind the drastic changes in performance, he joked: “If I knew, I’d be a much happier person.”

• Read also: Fornaroli handed McLaren F1 and WEC duties for 2027

He also believes team-mate Lando Norris has sometimes extracted more from the car than it should deliver.

“Some of the laps that Lando’s done in qualifying to put the car on pole have been better than what the car deserves,” he said, ever a team player.

Norris has described the MCL40 as "mentally exhausting" to drive, while Stella has acknowledged its fundamental problems will not be resolved until the 2027 car.

Austin’s updates are therefore a step towards recovery, rather than a guaranteed turnaround.

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