McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella explained in more detail what his team need to do to catch up to Mercedes and Ferrari after being the third-fastest team in Melbourne. McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella conceded there is "work ahead of us" as the reigning World Champions McLaren were left unable to fight for victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. “In fairness, the gap today was, if anything, similar to what we saw yesterday in Qualifying,” Stella explained after Sunday's race, with Piastri and Norris qualifying in fifth and sixth respectively. “There's performance that needs to come from two main areas. And in a way, today, I think it was exactly the same. McLaren are running the same power unit as Mercedes, who put theirs to good use in recording a 1-2 to start the season in style. Stella admitted that Mercedes are also quicker in the corners, with the Woking-based squad needing to understand how they are losing that crucial time. “Develop the car,” Stella stated as McLaren's main objective now. “This will take a few races, in terms of seeing some major upgrades that can allow us to change a bit the category for which we compete. Therefore, I think in these few initial races, we will have to make sure that we extract most of the car in its current configuration.” “He will use all this to get even more concentrated and determined, starting from China. Stella highlighted that Piastri had used that kerb throughout the weekend, but that the combination of being on it with colder than normal tyres did not help the Australian. He continued: “This further compounds with an element that doesn't make it easier again, which is the fact that with these oscillations and following the shift, there's an extra torque, let's say, that when we look at the behaviour of the power unit, it's sort of expected to happen like that. “In testing, we might have seen some similar circumstances, but we didn't have the combination of cold tyres and the kerb which aggravated the fact that you may have these inconsistencies from a power deployment point of view. I would say torque deployment in grip-limited phases.” Piastri will look to bounce back in China this weekend, as McLaren seek more data with which to decide on the development direction of their car in 2026.

Audi scored in Australia, courtesy of Gabriel Bortoleto - and Jonathan Wheatley hopes it is a sign of what is to come for his team. Having taken over the Sauber outfit, Audi have also produced their own power unit for their debut season, and they were in the thick of the action from word go in Melbourne. On raceday they only had one car competing – Nico Hulkenberg was unable to start after being wheeled off the grid with a loss of telemetry – but Bortoleto was able to turn a P10 grid slot into ninth at the flag, despite being on the arguably slower two-stop strategy. “I think we spent the winter focusing on ourselves, not getting caught up in what other teams' performance was like, not spending hours analysing everyone else's runs in Bahrain. We just wanted to come here and execute a clean race weekend,” Wheatley said afterwards. “We had some encouraging testing, and we came here feeling reasonably confident in terms of the performance of the car. But if you'd have said to me, I could swap anything and give you P9 in the race, I would have taken your hand off earlier in the week. So, look, I think it's been a very encouraging first race for the team, a historic moment – Audi, Formula 1 car, scoring points in its first ever race. "I feel the yin and yang that the other driver didn't get a chance to start the race, but I think all in all, we can hold our head up high and say it's a good start to our journey." Australia was a race of discovery for every team as they begin to battle in a new era of F1 regulations. “He's a fast learner, and I've talked before about his work ethic, but I think I should mention it now because he spent the whole of January either on the simulator in Neuberg or in Hinwil. “He could have stayed in Brazil for a little bit longer. And once again, I'm sat here thinking that he's developing really, really well as a driver and into, obviously, a future talent.” Hulkenberg though was unable to start the race – and his issue was not connected to that which Bortoleto suffered at the end of Q2 in Qualifying when he rolled to a stop at the pit entry. That puts them at a disadvantage compared to the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari, who have multiple teams running their engines. “[Sunday was] the first time we've had a chance to really look at what other teams are doing and how they're doing it. We're fast learners, and I'm looking forward to seeing how that information can be used to benefit us,” Wheatley said. “Every time we take these brand-new cars to a new track with new characteristics, we could shake the order up. And the order is closer, I think, in the midfield than any of us were expecting, but maybe we'll be saying something different next week.

Authentics Store Tickets Hospitality Experiences Previous Next Upcoming F1 Memory Box: Mark Webber | Trailer Radio Rewind: 2026 Australian Grand Prix Mercedes secured a perfect 1-2 result in Melbourne, but could Ferrari have challenged for the win with a different decision? George Russell and Kimi Antonelli delivered Mercedes a spectacular 1-2 result in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but did Ferrari blow their opportunity of winning by deciding to keep both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton out on track during two closely-spaced Virtual Safety Cars? Leclerc was leading the race on Lap 12 – very narrowly – from Russell's Mercedes, the pair having passed and repassed over the first few laps in a thrilling display. Hamilton's Ferrari was running third, just one second behind Russell. A VSC to retrieve Isack Hadjar's broken-down Red Bull prompted Mercedes to bring both Russell and fourth-placed Antonelli into the pits for time-cheap stops to change from the medium to the hard tyre. Ferrari elected to keep both Leclerc and Hamilton out despite the 10 second saving to the pack of stopping under a VSC, compared to doing so with everyone at full racing speed. Unlock exclusive F1 content and more with F1 Unlocked. Totally free. Membership gets you closer with: Curated insider content Live like an F1 insider with exclusive access and VIP experiences Member benefits, rewards and offers Next Up © 2003-2026 Formula One World Championship Limited