McLaren are rolling the dice with new upgrades coming to the final three rounds of the 2026 season, but team principal Andrea Stella isn't guaranteeing they'll work. After dropping down the pecking order since Lando Norris' consecutive wins in Hungary and the Netherlands, McLaren have abandoned several upgrades that didn't pay off on their MCL40. Now, with just six races left and a tight Constructors' Championship battle brewing, they're willing to take some risks to claw back lost ground.

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Stella opened up about the strategy, explaining that McLaren will test concepts destined for their 2027 car during this final triple header push. The thinking is solid, they need to bridge the gap to Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari and prove some of their fundamental aerodynamic concepts for next year. But after two years of intensive development, the car has become incredibly complex, and things don't always go to plan. "It may go right. It may go wrong," Stella admitted, keeping expectations realistic while staying optimistic about the potential upside.

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The timing is crucial because McLaren are only seven points ahead of Red Bull in the standings after Singapore, with Max Verstappen on a hot streak. Verstappen has claimed back-to-back victories, including a dominant performance at Marina Bay, and he's topping the timing sheets. If McLaren keep dropping points like they did when Lando Norris crashed into Oscar Piastri in Singapore, they could slip to fourth place in the championship. That'd hurt their financial reward this season and leave them playing catch-up heading into 2027.

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So the pressure is on. Stella and McLaren need these upgrades to deliver results that help them fight for podiums and victories over the remaining races. They're essentially using the end of this season as a testing ground for next year's car, which is smart long-term thinking but risky in the short term. With Red Bull breathing down their necks and Ferrari also in the mix, McLaren can't afford too many experiments going sideways. The next six races are going to be absolutely crucial.

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