McLaren approaches the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps viewing potential wet weather as a crucial opportunity for car development. The team aims to gather essential data on its 2026-specification MCL40 in low-grip conditions. This comes as McLaren seeks to improve its performance following a challenging start to the current Formula 1 season.
The Woking-based outfit is introducing significant upgrades for the Spa weekend, including the latest Mercedes power unit. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s cars will be fitted with their third internal combustion engine of the season.
Additionally, McLaren will debut a new rear wing assembly at the Belgian Grand Prix. Neil Houldey, McLaren’s Technical Director of Applied Engineering, confirmed this upgrade is part of the team’s planned development pathway for the MCL40.
Houldey stated that while wet weather presents inherent difficulties, the team considers it a valuable chance to run the car in the wet. This will allow them to understand its behaviour in low-grip scenarios, providing crucial data for the remainder of the season.
The forecast for Spa-Francorchamps indicates an unpredictable weekend. There is a 50-65% chance of rain on Friday, with Friday afternoon expected to be the most active period for precipitation.
Saturday’s qualifying session currently has a lower chance of rain, ranging from 0-50%, while Sunday’s race day carries a 10-40% probability of wet conditions. The 2026-specification cars have not yet encountered a fully wet competitive session this season.
This weekend could mark the first genuine opportunity for teams to assess how the new generation of cars performs on a damp track. The FIA introduced the ‘Rain Hazard’ rule for the 2026 season, which allows teams to modify car setups between qualifying and race day.
This rule permits adjustments to ride height and wing incidence angle if Météo France predicts a 40% or higher chance of rain, or at the race director’s discretion. This fundamentally alters parc fermé regulations under wet conditions.
McLaren drivers have prior experience in wet conditions, with Oscar Piastri securing victory in a wet-dry Belgian Grand Prix in 2025. Lando Norris also won the British Grand Prix in the rain during the 2025 season.
Both Piastri and Norris participated in 2026 wet weather tyre testing at Paul Ricard in January 2025. However, McLaren boss Andrea Stella previously expressed concern earlier this season regarding the untested 2026 power units in wet conditions.
Stella highlighted the ‘element of variability’ of the new power units in the wet, noting McLaren’s lack of experience with them in such conditions during the 2026 season. This underscores the importance of data acquisition at Spa.
The Spa-Francorchamps circuit itself presents unique challenges, being one of the most energy-starved tracks on the calendar. Teams anticipate significant ‘super clip,’ which will rigorously test both the car and the drivers.
