McLaren Confirm New Upgrades for Spa as Wolff Tells Mercedes to Stop Wasting Their Advantage

• McLaren will run a new rear wing and a fresh engine specification at the Belgian Grand Prix, with a bigger upgrade package held back for Hungary
• The reigning constructors’ champions sit 154 points behind leaders Mercedes after nine rounds, having managed only one podium in their last five races
• Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has told his team to “execute cleanly” after reliability failures cost Kimi Antonelli and George Russell results in three of the last four races

Two very different messages are coming out of the paddock ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. One team is searching for pace. The other has the pace, and is being told to stop wasting it.

McLaren have confirmed a new rear wing and a fresh engine specification for both cars this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, the first step in an upgrade push aimed at arresting a difficult defence of their constructors’ title. Mercedes arrive with a commanding championship lead of their own, and a warning from team principal Toto Wolff that pace alone will not be enough to hold it.

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A Difficult Title Defence for McLaren

McLaren head into the Belgian Grand Prix 154 points behind championship leaders Mercedes in the constructors’ standings, with 179 points to Mercedes’ 333 after nine rounds. Lando Norris sits fifth in the drivers’ championship on 97 points, with team mate Oscar Piastri sixth on 82.

The team’s only podium finish across their last five races came when Norris took third in Barcelona. McLaren enter Belgium as the reigning constructors’ and drivers’ champions from 2025, defending both titles without, so far, a car capable of matching Mercedes or Ferrari over a race weekend.

New Parts for Spa, Bigger Changes for Hungary

In a statement previewing the Belgian Grand Prix, McLaren confirmed the scale of what is coming. “As part of the MCL40’s development pathway, this weekend will see the introduction of a new rear wing which will be tested and evaluated in Friday’s practice sessions at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps,” the team said.

“Both MCL40 race cars will also be fitted with a new ICE unit, the third of the season, supplied by Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains that includes some different specifications introduced to improve reliability. These made their debut with the works team at the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix and then with the other two customer teams at Silverstone.”

The team was clear, though, that the bigger step is being saved for the following round. “The team arrives in Belgium fully focused on unlocking the car’s absolute potential before a significant upgrade package is introduced for the Hungarian Grand Prix later this month,” the statement continued.

Technical director for applied engineering Neil Houldey played down how much difference the Spa parts by themselves will make. “We’re confident that this update will add a bit of performance to our car, but we are fully aware that after a difficult British Grand Prix, mainly in terms of pure performance, even this round won’t be that easy, so we won’t be expecting any big change in terms of competitiveness,” Houldey said.

Wolff Wants Mercedes to ‘Execute Cleanly’

Mercedes arrive at Spa with Kimi Antonelli and George Russell first and second in the drivers’ championship, and a 78-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ standings. That advantage should be more comfortable than it is. Antonelli has finished without points in two of the last three races after technical failures, retiring from an engine problem in Barcelona before a wheel-guard failure ended his chase of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at Silverstone. Russell also retired from the lead in Canada after an engine failure of his own.

Wolff addressed the pattern directly. “The last few races have underlined both where our strengths are and where we need to improve,” he said. “We have a car capable of fighting at the front and scoring heavily, but we have not converted that potential into the best possible results. Reliability issues have cost us points, and in a championship this competitive, that is something we cannot afford. There is no value in having the pace if we don’t bring home the result.”

Belgium and Hungary form the final double header before Formula 1’s four-week summer break, with the season not resuming until the Dutch Grand Prix in late August. “This is the final double header before the summer shutdown and we want to head into the break on a stronger note,” Wolff said. “Our aim is to execute cleanly, deliver the reliability we need, and convert the performance of the car into the points it is capable of scoring. We have left too much on the table recently. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen again starting this weekend.”

Two Different Pressures Heading Into the Break

The contrast sets up an unusual Belgian Grand Prix. McLaren need their new parts simply to close the gap. Mercedes need nothing new at all, just for the car they already have to finish the races it starts. Norris and Piastri will get their first look at the new rear wing in Friday practice, while Antonelli and Russell will be looking to turn Mercedes’ commanding lead in the constructors’ standings into a season that finishes as strongly as it started, beginning at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend.

The two teams’ contrasting weekends sit against one of the tightest title fights in years. Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers’ championship on 179 points, with George Russell 25 points behind him in second and Lewis Hamilton a further seven points back in third on 147. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc sits fourth on 108, with Norris fifth, Piastri sixth and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen seventh on 76. Each of the chasing group will need a strong run of results across Belgium and Hungary to keep any realistic hope of the title alive before the season reaches its final stretch after the summer break.

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Written by

Jack Renn

Jack Renn is an editor at F1 Chronicle and a veteran motorsport journalist with 25 years of experience covering Formula 1 and international motorsport. A member of the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS), the global body representing accredited sports journalists, Jack has spent his career reporting from paddocks and press rooms across the F1 calendar. His work spans race analysis, technical insight, and in-depth features, giving readers authoritative coverage grounded in decades of firsthand experience at the highest level of the sport.

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