McLaren team principal Andrea Stella insists Mercedes and Ferrari are "a step ahead" of the constructors' champions following the final round of pre-season testing.

The third, and last, testing session ahead of the 2026 Formula One season took place in Bahrain last week, with attention now turning to the Australian Grand Prix on March 8.

Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets by over eight tenths of a second from Lando Norris after an impressive final day, with the Monagasque also having a strong race simulation in the heat of the day.

The sport has undergone some of its biggest changes between the 2025 and 2026 campaigns, with new rules introduced regarding engines, chassis, tyres and fuel.

After those changes, Mercedes have been tipped as one of the stronger performers alongside Ferrari, and though Stella does not think McLaren are far behind, he acknowledged the other teams currently look stronger.

Asked about the pecking order, he said: "It's very difficult to say.

In two weeks, we go racing #McLarenF1 pic.twitter.com/piYk2bTpfM

— McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team (@McLarenF1) February 22, 2026

"There is a race simulation that was, I think, on Thursday [between] Oscar [Piastri] and [Max] Verstappen. It happened at a similar time of the day, and it was a similar pace.

"Often, the race simulation is actually where you can more accurately see what the genuine performance of cars is.

"The reason why I think we have to be careful is that, depending on the time of the day, the race simulation may be quite a lot faster.

"Like now [on the last day], Lando, he was performing pretty strongly in a race simulation, but at the same time, probably the end of day three was the fastest time the track has been across the six days.

"So, difficult [to say]. I think McLaren and Red Bull are probably very similar. Ferrari and Mercedes are a step ahead."