McLaren boss says two teams are 'one step ahead' in blow to Lando Norris

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has admitted that two teams are currently one step ahead going into the 2026 Formula 1 season.

In two weeks, the 2026 F1 campaign will kick off with the Australian Grand Prix, taking place around Albert Park in Melbourne.

This week, testing came to a close, with the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull all producing impressive sessions.

Meanwhile, Aston Martin struggled, having encountered multiple issues on their AMR26.

On Friday, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc ended testing as the fastest driver, finishing ahead of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.

Heading into 2026, Norris is the defending world champion, having clinched his maiden title in 2025 by finishing two points ahead of Verstappen.

Lando Norris is looking to defend his world title. Image: Getty

However, speaking recently, McLaren team principal Stella admitted that they are currently behind two teams.

As reported by Planet F1, Stella believes Ferrari and Mercedes are currently the teams to beat in 2026.

He said: "I would say that this test has confirmed that Ferrari and Mercedes look like the teams to beat. I think McLaren is not far [away]. I think it’s good to see that we are part of the top four group. But I think these two teams, they seem to have shown a little bit of an advantage.

"There is a race simulation, it was I think yesterday [Thursday], Oscar [Piastri] and [Max] Verstappen. It happened at the similar time of the day, and it was a similar pace. Often the race simulation is actually where you can more accurately see what the genuine performance of cars is."

Stella added: "The reason why I think we have to be careful is that dependent on the time of the day, then the race simulation may be quite a lot faster. Like now Lando, he was performing pretty strongly in the race simulation. But at the same time, probably the end of day three was the fastest time the track has been across the six days.

"So, difficult. I think McLaren and Red Bull probably very similar. Ferrari and Mercedes a step ahead."