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McLaren boss: "Two teams are ahead of us"

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The first Formula 1 championship with the new regulations is about to begin: it starts in Melbourne, on the weekend of March 6 to 8’8. There is curiosity to see which teams have managed to develop their single-seaters best during the winter, and compared to last season the hierarchies could change drastically. According to Andrea Stella, the team principal of defending champion McLaren, at the moment two teams are ahead of all of them.

“Ferrari and Mercedes are now the teams to beat” Stella told formula1.com. “I think McLaren is not far behind: it is good to see that we are among the top four teams, but I think these two teams seem to have a slight advantage”, continued the Italian executive.

McLaren in 2025 managed to win both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships, but the new regulations have reshuffled the cards. Still, Stella is satisfied with the work done during testing: “The car performed very reliably: we practically completed all the tests planned, in terms of functionality, reliability and race simulation. This allowed us to complete many laps and learn a lot, and I think we have reached a point where we can say we have a relatively good understanding and exploitation of the car”s potential.

SportalFormula 1 kicks off: salaries of the 10 highest-paid drivers in 2026

The Formula 1 World Championship is about to restart: the salaries of the 10 highest paid drivers in 2026. Source RacingNews365
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin): $12 million. The Canadian driver is in his sixth season with the British team
Alex Albon (Williams): $12 million. The Thai is in his fifth consecutive year at Williams
Pierre Gasly (Alpine): $12.5 million. The French driver moved to Alpine in 2023
Oscar Piastri (McLaren): $13 million. The'Australian finished third last season
Carlos Sainz (Williams): $13 million for the'former Ferrarista, at Williams since last season
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): $20 million. The Spanish two-time world champion driver is the most experienced on the grid
Lando Norris (McLaren): $30 million. The world champion is only fifth in this special ranking
George Russell (Mercedes): $34 million. The British driver goes after his first world title this season
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): $34 million. The Monegasque wants to break the curse of the Italian stable, which has not won a drivers’ title since 2007
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari): $60 million. After last season’s disappointments, the British driver wants to redeem himself
Max Verstappen (Red Bull): $70 million. Lavish contract for the four-time world champion, who in 2025 finished second

“We were able to test and experiment, play with the’set-up, with aerodynamic and tire optimization and, I would say, also with the’use and optimization of the powertrain, which is definitely an important point” continued Stella.

World champion Lando Norris admitted the lag from the best after testing in Bahrain: “We are a little behind at the moment, so to match the race pace of some of the others we have to push a little harder, and that means more tire degradation”.

“I know there are aspects of our strengths from last year that will continue to be so this season…it is still very, very early days, but right now we are improving in many areas”.

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