6 November 2026 13:50 (UTC)
Our 2026 challenger arrives in Brazil with a number of updates as part of our constant improvement process
With a fresh suite of upgrades set to be available ahead of this weekend’s race, Lando has shared details of where he believes the MCL40’s strengths and weaknesses lie, and the challenges we’ve had to tackle in this new era.
The McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to close the gap to rival teams, having started the season with a significant deficit to those across the field who build their own engines, and Lando believes these steps forward have been a real achievement for the team.
We have deployed a number of upgrades to the MCL40 across the season and will continue this in Brazil with updates to the front wing, rear wing, and floor, to improve aerodynamic performance and balance as we tackle Interlagos’ combination of elevation changes and tight corners.
“I don't think we've done many things badly this season,” he said, speaking ahead of this weekend’s race in São Paulo. “We knew at the beginning of the season there was a big challenge ahead of us because we were coming into a new regulation after last year.
“Generally, that is a difficult part of it. I think we've actually had a very successful season in terms of catching up to our competition. For us to catch up, I think you can easily see a lot more success than failure.
“I certainly don't want to look at it as though this year has been a failure because we've won the Constructors’ Championship two seasons in a row. I think the expectation to win a third in a row is already a very high expectation. To win it in one of the biggest regulation changes ever is always a huge ask.
“The biggest lesson is that nothing comes easy. We have certainly seen an upgrade battle this season. We've seen better and more consistent performances from all of our rival teams, the top few teams, and we've seen them performing at a better level than ever before.”
The team began the season with high expectations following those back-to-back Constructors’ Championships and Lando’s 2025 Drivers’ title, but started on the back foot. Last season’s title fight required us to pour greater resource into that year’s car deeper into the season than would usually be the case. Meanwhile, rivals who manufacture their own engines started this season with a natural advantage.
Lando believes the upgrades we have brought to Brazil are further evidence of the progress we’ve made in our bid to close the gap, while those around us continue to improve via their own developments.
It has been a constant process throughout the season, requiring the team to react nimbly to developments across the paddock, as seen in the deployment of the H-Wing during the summer.
The MCL40 has shown strong pace in recent races, but we haven’t been on the podium since Lando’s third-place finish in Madrid in September. Lando is hopeful these upgrades will improve the car’s drivability and build on the encouraging signs from the past few races.
“The potential is there, and the hope is that these upgrades can make the car easier to drive, which would be a big positive for us,” Lando says. “Our race pace is already good, so if these changes can get us higher up the field in Qualifying, then we’ll be in a better place to start the race from.”
Lando and Oscar are gunning to finish the season strongly as we chase third place in the Constructors’ Championship, and both are hopeful that we can continue our impressive record of results in Brazil to close the gap to Red Bull.
Lando, who won here last year, said: “I feel like across the last few weekends the pace has not been too bad on Sundays. I feel like if things went just a little bit better, and we're talking small amounts, we certainly could have had better results.
“I'm hoping that the upgrades and some of the things we bring this weekend can maybe shift us a little bit more in this direction. I certainly don't expect to go out and win races all of a sudden, but the last few weekends we've certainly not been miles away.”
Lando heads into the race sixth in the Drivers’ Championship, a place ahead of Oscar, who is determined to bounce back from his 13th-place finish in Mexico City following a harsh 10-second time penalty.
The Australian believes neither he nor the team need to overhaul anything in search of more points, despite acknowledging difficult moments for him personally this season.
"I don't think I need to do anything spectacular,” he said. “It would just be nice to have a cleaner weekend, that's for sure.
“We've obviously got some new bits for the car this weekend, so hopefully that makes life a little bit easier but there's no need to try and bounce back and do something special. It's just trying to continue working on the things we've continually been working on and trying to make the car behave a little bit nicer if we can.
“I think we've probably out-developed some of our rivals, but we've not been the benchmark this year like we have in the last couple of years. That's definitely our aim, to try and improve that.
“We've set the benchmark for development the last couple of years in Formula 1 and everyone tries to outdo each other pretty quickly. We'll try to get back there again."
