Stella refuses to be drawn into Red Bull turmoil: 'I have enough to do at McLaren'

For days, speculation has continued to intensify over Max Verstappen's potential departure at the end of the season, with a move to McLaren emerging as a possible destination. Such a switch would see the Dutchman form a blockbuster driver pairing alongside reigning world champion Lando Norris, despite the Woking-based team not enjoying the strongest start to the 2026 season.

Speaking to GPBlog among others at Silverstone, Stella stressed that his full focus remains on improving McLaren, pointing out that the team still has significant performance to unlock while also addressing reliability issues affecting both the power unit and chassis. Rather than commenting on how Mekies should handle Red Bull's situation, he said McLaren has more than enough areas to improve within its own operation.

Stella also praised Mekies, describing him as highly capable and expressing confidence that he will make the right decisions at Red Bull. He added that he hopes both McLaren and Red Bull can close the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari, making the second half of the Formula 1 season even more competitive.

Speaking to the media at Silverstone, Zak Brown admitted McLaren would naturally prefer to already have Mercedes' latest power unit specification available, but stressed the team is not frustrated by the delay. Instead, he explained that the upgrade will arrive in due course and that the focus remains on continuing to maximise performance with the current package until then.

The McLaren CEO also clarified that the team cannot simply install the new specification whenever it chooses, as the existing engines still have mileage remaining before reaching the planned replacement point. He pointed out that other Mercedes-powered teams introduced the updated engine earlier because their circumstances required an engine change sooner, whereas McLaren must follow its own planned rotation before fitting the latest specification.