The Miami weekend, thanks to the long break in April, was the perfect opportunity to introduce significant upgrade packages, which in some cases allowed teams to make a significant performance leap compared to the first events of the season.
McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull are the teams that have made the most updates, but the Woking-based manufacturer is undoubtedly the one that has made the most progress. The leap in performance, thanks also to Mercedes' wait-and-see attitude (for her, the update package will arrive in Canada, the next event of the world championship), came before everyone's eyes: a one-two in the Sprint and a double podium in the race.
The team captained by Andrea Stella worked hard and didn't even finish reaping its rewards. The step taken in Miami is the result of only the first part of the developments completed in April. The second will arrive in Montreal and at that point we can get an idea of the extent of what will be the real clash between Mercedes and McLaren in the remaining events.
Different times and dynamics from 2024, McLaren still believes in the feat
In Woking, they were overwhelmed by a breath of euphoria, so much so that in Miami, Stella and Brown spoke of being able to repeat the feat they accomplished in 2024. A recovery that, despite the poor start to the season, led to the conquest of the constructors' title.
The team's expectations have a solid foundation. Certainly, the start of the 2026 World Cup, however negative (due to ongoing reliability issues), is not even close to that of 2024. McLaren is already very strong now and will certainly improve further. Which makes the whole papaya environment smile.
However, there is bad news. Today's opponent, Mercedes, is not Red Bull. And that's not to discredit the Austrian team. We live in different times, with different dynamics.
In 2024, the focus was primarily on focusing most of the development at the beginning of the year, but then declined. So McLaren did a different programming because they saw good in the work they were doing and believed in it. This year, believe us, it might not be enough. This is because, while they are grappling with a new regulation, the teams are essentially all in the same boat.
In this case, the 2026 Mercedes is not the 2024 Red Bull. The Stuttgart-based club has had a brilliant start to the season and if they make consistent updates, albeit less frequently than their opponents, they have a good chance of staying at the top. Sometimes it is forgotten that quantity is of little use, if quality is lacking.
Finally, Mercedes is not Red Bull in terms of drivers either. The results achieved by the Milton Keynes team in 2024 and 2025 (especially in 2025) have depended almost exclusively on Verstappen and it would appear that they are not experiencing the same situation in Stuttgart. Russell has had two tough weekends, but he himself says he is ready to get back on track as soon as possible. Recovering ground, for McLaren, will not be easy at all.
Foto: McLaren
Read also in italian language: La McLaren fa strani paragoni, il nemico oggi non è la Red Bull
