Former Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok believes McLaren has failed to keep pace in the 2026 development race, arguing that the reigning constructors' champion must now shift its focus to 2027.
Chandhok analysed McLaren's current position during an appearance on the Sky Sports F1 Show. McLaren entered the new regulatory era as back-to-back constructors' world champions, with Lando Norris as the reigning drivers' champion, but the Woking outfit's performance so far this year seems to have placed it outside of the championship fight.
"I think Lando's pretty philosophic about the fact that the championship defence is not on this year," Chandhok explained on the podcast. "The gap between him and [Kimi Antonelli] is probably a bit too much.
"Their objective now is to try and win some races in the remaining part of the season and start 2027 on the front foot."
Following a genuine fight for the victory at the Miami Grand Prix, McLaren's upgrade packages have failed to deliver performance gains seen in previous campaigns.
"They haven't managed to keep up the development battle," Chandhok stated. "If you look at Miami, they were in contention for the win, but since then they haven't been. And so whatever they've brought or not brought has allowed them to get in a position where they are now finishing 15, 20 seconds off the lead."
For a team that has set the benchmark in recent seasons, the current performance deficit is a bitter pill to swallow. But Chandhok insists that the Zak Brown-led team must use the remainder of the season to focus on 2027.
"That's not where McLaren would want to be as double constructors' world champion," Chandhok added. "So right now, this is all about trying to bank some victories, trying to bank some knowledge and hit the ground running for 2027."
McLaren currently sits third in the constructors' championship with 195 points, 90 points behind second-placed Ferrari and 163 points behind leader Mercedes.
Norris and his team-mate Oscar Piastri are fifth and sixth in the drivers' championship with 103 and 92 points, respectively. In comparison, Kimi Antonelli, who currently leads the drivers' standings, has 204 points.
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