Andrea Stella (McLaren) believes that Mercedes and Ferrari have the advantage going into Australia

Two-time reigning world constructors' champion, McLaren will begin his first season in 2026 with the number 1 on his car since 2010, following the world title won by Lando Norris in 2025. For Andrea Stella, Team Principal of the Woking-based team, winter testing went well, allowing for an initial assessment of the hierarchy at the front. While he believes his team is among the elite, Mercedes Benz et Classic Ferrari for sale seem to have the advantage for the moment.

"In terms of understanding the competitive landscape, I would say that this test has confirmed that Ferrari and Mercedes appear to be the teams to beat."Stella said. "I think McLaren isn't far behind. I think it's positive that we're in the top four, but I think those two teams seem to have shown a slight advantage."

While the teams have had several rounds of testing for the first time since 2022, with nine days in total for the different teams, Andrea Stella believes that his teams have now acquired enough data to better understand the MCL40 from the first event of the season, in Melbourne, Australia from March 6 to 8.

“Overall, this test session was positive, especially in Bahrain. The car performed very reliably. We validated virtually all the points we planned to test, both in terms of functionality and reliability and race competitiveness. This allowed us to complete many laps and learn a lot, and I think we can now say that the car's potential has been relatively well understood and exploited. Obviously, everything is new, and before each session, there is something to learn.”

It is only in Melbourne that we will know McLaren's true position in the hierarchy, but cautious optimism currently reigns among the Papayas.

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