McLaren boss sets ‘priority number one’ in F1 regulation talks
Andrea Stella spoke about addressing qualifying as 'priority number one' among the teams.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has identified qualifying as “priority number one” among the teams to address in upcoming talks on the 2026 regulations.
Discussions are set to take place in the unplanned April break over the new ruleset, which, while the new cars have delivered a significant increase in on-track overtaking, they have also drawn criticism among the drivers for not being able to push throughout a full lap, due to battery limitations.
Andrea Stella calls qualifying priority issue in F1 2026 rules
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Several drivers have been vocal in their dislike of the new overall driving experience in Formula 1, particularly when it comes to one-lap pace.
With the new battery requirements in play, drivers have found that sometimes lifting and coasting through corners, taking a small amount of extra speed away, can bring a lap time benefit when battery is deployed again on straights.
The teams are due to sit down with the FIA and FOM next week to analyse the new regulations as they have operated to date, but the McLaren team principal identified that, away from safety implications, improving the driving experience in qualifying is a key talking point.
Because of these concerns, Stella pointed to examples around Suzuka as to why he and McLaren will look to bring qualifying into the mix in these meetings.
“I think as an F1 community, we have identified the priority number one, apart from safety issues, that we at McLaren in particular have definitely raised the attention [of], like starts or the risks with the lift and coast of the car ahead for the following car and so on,” he explained in Japan.
“From a performance and from driving point of view, the main opportunity that was identified was qualifying, and driving in qualifying to the limit of grip, and to make sure that the drivers that are best at exploiting the grip, and at times, even take the risks to do so, they are rewarded.
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“I think here in Suzuka is, because we have this shortage of energy, we expose some of the limitations of the current regulations.
“You mentioned Degner One is now a corner in which you almost lift and roll through the corner, and then you have to avoid going on power between Degner One and Two, because that way of using your battery would not be efficient.
“Instead, that corner has always been one that the drivers will mention in a season, like, ‘what are the most challenging corners?’ That’s one of those. And at the moment, that corner, you think about the battery as you go through the corner. You don’t think about gaining half a tenth just by committing to it. So I think that’s one of those, the first corner of the Spoon as well, and a similar concept applies between the first part and second part of the Spoon.
“So, I think the challenges of Suzuka kind of suffer, and I can understand that the drivers push the F1 community to fix this, such that qualifying retains the excitement, the challenge, the DNA of being the moment in which the best driver gets rewarded, especially in the places where they can make the difference with the bravery and the ability.
“I think this is not obvious as to how to do that, but there are some possibilities. There are some further meetings that will happen between the teams, the FIA and F1 between now and Miami, so let’s see what progress we can do there, but I think it’s something that we should implement.”
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