McLaren F1 2026: Results, Wins and Reliability, Measured
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McLaren's 2026 season, measured: the double champions, and six non-finishes
McLaren started 2026 as both drivers' and constructors' champions. Fourteen races in they are third, with two wins for Lando Norris, and six non-finishes, including both cars failing to start in China. The season race by race.
McLaren began 2026 holding both world championships: the constructors' title for the second year running and Lando Norris's first drivers' title, won by two points from Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi.
Fourteen races into the new regulations, they are third in the constructors' championship on 306 points. Norris has won twice, in Hungary and at Zandvoort, both from pole. But the season has been shaped as much by what went wrong: six non-finishes across five race weekends, including the second round in China, where neither car made it out of the garage.
Every message from Norris's Hungarian win is in our
, with the audio and a transcript coloured by who is speaking.
Every race of their 2026 season
The first seven rounds:
Round
Grand Prix
Norris
Piastri
1
Australian
5th
Did not start
2
Chinese
Did not start
Did not start
3
Japanese
5th
2nd
4
Miami
2nd
3rd
5
Canadian
Retired
11th
6
Monaco
Retired
4th
7
Barcelona
3rd
5th
Finishing positions in each Grand Prix.
The next seven:
Round
Grand Prix
Norris
Piastri
8
Austrian
7th
4th
9
British
4th
11th
10
Belgian
7th
5th
11
Hungarian
Won
Retired
12
Dutch
Won
6th
13
Italian
4th
5th
14
Spanish (Madrid)
3rd
8th
Norris started thirteenth at Spa after a ten-place grid penalty.
The season in numbers
2 wins, both Norris from pole: Hungary and Zandvoort, four weeks apart.
3 poles, all Norris: Hungary, Zandvoort and Madrid.
7 Grand Prix podiums: five for Norris, two for Piastri.
6 non-finishes in 28 entries, 21%, against 11% for Mercedes, whose power unit McLaren uses.
306 points, third in the constructors' championship, 52 behind Ferrari.
Six non-finishes
Melbourne: Piastri crashed on his way to the grid at his home race after an unexpected power boost out of turn 4.
China: both cars failed to start, with separate electrical problems on their power units. The team could not replace the affected part before the pit lane closed.
Canada: Norris's gearbox failed on lap 40.
Monaco: Norris's power unit failed on lap 44.
Hungary: Piastri's gearbox failed on lap 56, after he had led the first half of the race.
On top of those, Norris took a ten-place grid penalty at Spa for using a fourth power electronics unit, one more than the season allows. The first had failed terminally in China.
His radio as his gearbox went in Montreal:
Lando NorrisMcLaren · Canadian Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 17:01:39 local
DriverSomething's broken about gearbox or something
It was a race winner. Norris took pole and won in Hungary, then did it again at the last Dutch Grand Prix, and was on pole for the first Grand Prix at the Madring before a virtual safety car handed the lead to Kimi Antonelli. His radio after Hungary:
Lando NorrisMcLaren · Hungarian Grand Prix 2026 · Race · 16:43:59 local
DriverWell done, mate. Well done.
EngineerBeautiful! The
Drivercar was unbelievable today. Well done, guys. Incredible. Flying, thank you so much for the car. Nice to finally be able to do it all for you again. Feels like it's been a while. Congrats, very well deserved. Hard work pays off. Just keep it going. Thank you very much. I love you all.
"The car was unbelievable today... Nice to finally be able to do it all for you again. Feels like it's been a while."
Piastri's best results are second in Japan, in his first Grand Prix start of the season, and third in Miami. Hungary was the race that should have changed his year: he led it until his gearbox failed.
Same engine, different record
McLaren use Mercedes power units, and the comparison is stark. The works Mercedes team has failed to finish 3 of 28 entries; McLaren 6. Williams, another Mercedes customer, 8; Alpine just 1. The power unit problems McLaren reported, in China and at Monaco, were real, but the spread across four teams using the same engine says the whole car and its operation matter as much as the supplier.
Nine rounds remain, starting with Baku on 26 September. Norris is fourth in the drivers' championship, five points behind Lewis Hamilton, and Piastri seventh. The full table is in the 2026 standings.
What this measures, and what it does not
Results, grid positions and points come from Formula 1's official timing data and match the published standings after the Spanish Grand Prix.
Causes of retirements come from the team and drivers, and are sourced in each driver's season review.
Quotes are taken only from lines where the speaker label and the words agree.
Frequently asked questions
Are McLaren the reigning F1 champions?
Yes. They won the 2025 constructors' championship, and Lando Norris won the 2025 drivers' title by two points from Max Verstappen.
Why did both McLarens not start the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix?
Both cars had separate electrical problems with their Mercedes power units, and the team could not fix them before the pit lane closed.
How many races have McLaren won in 2026?
Two, both by Lando Norris from pole: the Hungarian and Dutch Grands Prix.
Where are McLaren in the 2026 constructors' championship?
Third, on 306 points after the Spanish Grand Prix, 52 behind Ferrari and 197 behind Mercedes.
Sources
Results, grid positions and points: Formula 1 timing data via FastF1, matching the published standings after the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix
Other retirements and the Spa penalty: the sources listed in each driver's season review
Every radio message quoted: our own team radio archive
Hear it before it is explained
A gearbox failing, a power unit cutting out, a car that will not leave the garage: the radio and the team's documents say what happened before anyone explains it on television.
The Formula Dream app plays live driver radio as it is broadcast, transcript beside the audio, and collects every FIA document of the weekend as it is published, including the power unit element changes that turned China's failure into a grid penalty at Spa. There is also a live timing Dashboard, currently in beta.
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Nineteen Chinese Grands Prix have been held in Shanghai since 2004. Lewis Hamilton won six, pole won twelve, and in 2026 Kimi Antonelli took the first win of his career there, at 19, with Hamilton on the podium for Ferrari for the first time. Every winner, grid slot and safety car, measured.
