McLaren boss Andrea Stella believes the “fundamentals” behind the team’s superior tyre management will still be applicable under Formula 1‘s new 2026 regulations.
The Woking-based squad has sustained a dominant start to the season, winning all but one race to open up a huge 105-point lead in the Constructors’ Championship.
But while rivals have tended to be close or even ahead over one lap, McLaren has been unbeatable in races on circuits where degradation has been more pronounced.
That has triggered external suspicion that McLaren is exploiting the regulations to acquire an edge, but subsequent FIA checks have declared that the MCL39 is legal.
With next season’s revamped rules package enforcing a reduction to the diameter of the tyres, though, McLaren’s advantage in that area could be rendered redundant.
However, Stella, who claimed that McLaren has mastered the “black arts” with Pirelli’s current compounds, is confident that some learnings can be translated to 2026.
“I think there are some fundamentals that you can carry over,” Stella told media including Motorsport Week.
“There are some other aspects which are somehow constant evolution and improvement of a platform, like the platform of our car in the current regulations, that we now know very well.
“But I think some fundamentals in terms of understanding you can carry over into next year’s car.
“Some other aspects we will have to understand how do we transfer them from this car to next year’s car.”
The next-generation machines are tipped to boast around 15 per cent less downforce than the current cars, a reduction that Stella admits must be taken into account.
“For instance, if we consider the aerodynamic aspects which do influence the behaviour of the tyres, obviously the aerodynamic level of downforce next year and the shape of the map will be completely different,” he expanded.
“So we will have to think how do we transfer this knowledge that we have accumulated on this kind of regulations onto a set of regulations and aerodynamic levels and maps which will be completely different.
“So, some more work to do and I foresee that we will be with the new regulations another process of continued improvements like we have seen for us with the current regulations.”
Wolff predicts tyres will remain ‘biggest differentiator’
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff concurred with Stella as he predicted that, even under the upcoming reset, the behaviour of the tyres will remain the leading “differentiator”.
“Today the biggest differentiator between the top four teams is tyre management in a race. So that remains a focus,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“That’s valid for next year as much as it is for this year. So I think comprehension and continuous push on that car is valid also for next year.”
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