An early-season development rush will impede McLaren trying to establish a level playing field for its Formula 1 drivers in 2026 believes Karun Chandhok.
All the 11 teams on the grid will be looking forward to the private test in Barcelona, later this month, to get proper track time for the first-time as F1 heads into its latest era.
The 2026 technical overhaul has completely revamped both the engine and chassis formula.
Naturally, despite the sport allowing teams a total of three pre-season test sessions, this season is going to pose a quick and steep learning curve for everybody.
Paddock rumblings suggest that the cars turning up to pre-season testing, then the first race at Melbourne, and finally at the end of the season are going to be drastically different.
This will translate into an early-season “scramble” to fit upgrades as teams keep logging data and developing its packages.
McLaren might have to compromise its ‘papaya rules’ in 2026
McLaren, who will be heading into this year as defending champions, hence, will have a tricky compromise to strike.
The Woking-based squad has been pretty bullish in employing its in-house papaya rules. Averse to initiating team orders, McLaren has tried its best to maintain parity between both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri throughout 2025.
But Chandhok believes that the race to fit competitive upgrades and keep ahead of its rivals would mean that McLaren would inevitably have to choose one over the other at some point in the season.
“I like the way McLaren has gone racing,” he said on the Sky Sports F1 show. “I think it’s good for the show. We’ve all enjoyed watching it. I’m sure, on the inside, it’s not been easy to manage.
“We got, obviously, new regs. And I think this year we’ve sort of had the end of a run of regulations, right?
“But next year, the rate of development is going to be so high, and I think they’ve managed so far to make it fair and equal that both drivers get an upgrade at the same time.
“Things like, there might be times, especially the early part of next year, where it’s like, ‘we got to really push something through, we can only get one made in time.’ Then what?
“So I think there’s going to be some more challenges around that, if they’re again at the sharp end.”
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