McLaren improves, but Piastri still has not mastered the MCL40

Lando Norris has won consecutive races in Budapest and Zandvoort, while Oscar Piastri has gone a year without victory and owns only two podiums this season. Andrea Stella says the new-generation cars still demand a mental effort from Piastri that prevents fully instinctive driving, particularly on harder tyres and late in stints.

The internal gap does not erase McLaren’s collective progress: it has turned a difficult 2026 launch car into a regular winner. Yet a complete championship campaign cannot rely on only one driver operating at his best.

Monza brings a different examination of low-downforce efficiency and braking stability. If Piastri closes the gap there, McLaren can claim a broader understanding of the MCL40; if not, the contrast with Norris remains a structural weakness in the constructors’ contest.