McLaren’s “Curse” Is Getting Harder… read more 👇 details in the comments section
McLaren are supposed to be one of Formula 1’s best-run teams. Recent history backs that up. They are the reigning constructors’ champions, one of their drivers secured the world title last season, and the team continues to show race-winning speed whenever the car is in the right window. Under team principal and CEO , the organisation has rebuilt itself into a genuine powerhouse again.
Which makes their 2026 season even more confusing.
For all the pace and promise in the car, McLaren keep finding bizarre ways to sabotage race weekends before the lights even go out. Across the opening ten races, five events have already been compromised by incidents that feel increasingly absurd. At this point, joking that the team is cursed almost sounds more believable than trying to explain everything logically.
The chaos started in Australia when suffered a freak accident while heading to the grid, preventing him from even starting the race. Then came China, where both McLarens were struck by separate power-unit electrical failures late on race day. Piastri’s car had to be wheeled away before the start, while the other side of the garage experienced problems of its own. Neither car even took the green flag.
Japan brought another twist. Piastri looked capable of fighting for victory before an unfortunately timed safety car destroyed his strategy. Then in Canada, both McLarens gambled on incoming rain that never arrived strongly enough to justify intermediate tyres. The decision backfired almost immediately. By lap three, both drivers had already returned to the pits to switch tyres.
Things only became more painful from there. Piastri damaged his front wing after contact with , while began hearing deeply unhealthy noises from his gearbox. It sounded less like a championship contender and more like someone shaking a toolbox down a staircase.
So naturally, the internet has started searching for supernatural explanations.
Maybe this is karma for the endlessly debated “Papaya Rules” drama that surrounded the team over the past 18 months. Perhaps Brown accidentally angered some mystical force while trying to destabilise rivals like and . Maybe the curse simply bounced back once Red Bull’s internal chaos was complete.
Or maybe the real explanation is simpler.
McLaren are still adapting to a heavily revised technical package, and because they are a customer team using Mercedes power units rather than building their own engines, there may be limitations in how quickly they can fully optimise the car. Factory teams naturally understand the integration between chassis and power unit better because both are developed together from the beginning. McLaren may simply be dealing with the awkward growing pains that come with trying to maximise performance under new regulations.
Of course, that explanation is much less entertaining than assuming a witch placed a hex on the garage.
Still, if McLaren genuinely want to “break the curse,” there are plenty of amusing options available. They could burn sage around the paddock, perform bizarre sporting rituals, or follow the famous lower-league football tradition of “blessing” every corner of the garage. Brown could also stop splitting his attention between Formula 1 and IndyCar weekends and focus entirely on the grand prix team.
More realistically, though, McLaren probably just need patience.
Underneath the mistakes, the bad luck, and the mechanical gremlins, the car still looks extremely fast. The team’s current deficit to Mercedes may appear significant, but F1 history shows these gaps can disappear quickly. Last season, McLaren overturned a much larger points deficit against Red Bull and eventually finished comfortably ahead.
That recovery happened despite inconsistent performances and operational mistakes earlier in the year. If they managed it once, there is no reason they cannot do it again.
The biggest danger for McLaren is not the so-called curse itself. It is allowing frustration and panic to distract them from the fact that they still possess one of the quickest cars on the grid. If they continue refining the package and reduce the self-inflicted errors, the wins will come.
And if all else fails, maybe someone should finally ask Norris what hair product survives two hours inside a Formula 1 helmet. Clearly, some kind of magic is already involved.