Lando Norris’ maiden victory in Miami may have brought joy to McLaren but it opened a pandora’s box for Mercedes. The Silver Arrows, despite being McLaren’s engine manufacturers, are languishing behind as they are fighting for the fourth-fastest place with Aston Martin. Zak Brown, however, has lauded them for not playing dirty games amid their struggles.
The McLaren CEO, in a recent interview with Sky F1, said, “We probably haven’t given them enough credit for being such an awesome partner.”
He added, “We have never had any doubt that we’re getting the same equipment as the Mercedes Works team. What we’ve known is we just need to beat the Mercedes Works team. And I think we’ve shown that we’re capable of doing that. I think Mercedes treats us equally.”
Ever since their meteoric rise in the second half of 2023, McLaren has comprehensively outperformed Mercedes. The gap further grew in 2024 as the Papaya team fought against Ferrari for the second-fastest spot. Mercedes engineers, meanwhile, have failed to strike a balance between straight-line speed and higher downforce in corners.
The MCL38 (McLaren’s 2024 car) looked slower on the straights in the first three fixtures of the season. However, as the upgrade packages arrived, it has overcome its Achilles’ heel. Another major upgrade and resultant victory in Miami only bolsters McLaren and Zak Brown’s confidence that the problem was not the engine but the overall aerodynamic package all this while.
McLaren started using Mercedes engines in 2021 and will continue to do so until 2030. That effectively means the partnership will continue through the upcoming set of regulations that will commence in 2026.
Mercedes engine deal a riskless gamble for McLaren?
The 2026 set of regulations majorly relates to the changes in engine specifications. Furthering their commitment to a carbon-neutral future, F1 has instructed teams to tweak their engines to cater to more sustainable fuel. Moreover, the reliance on fuel to generate power will also decline with electronic units playing a bigger role.
That has incentivized the teams to make efforts to produce their own engines. Red Bull has ended its partnership with Honda and will manufacture its own power units in partnership with Ford. Audi, which is set to take over Sauber, will also produce its own engines. That puts McLaren at a disadvantage as far as efforts to become self-reliant go.
️ | Christian Horner regarding Red Bull Ford Powertrains
“I think initially [we will supply] just two [teams] because, as a start-up, as a brand new engine manufacturer, I think it would be overstretching ourselves if we went beyond that.”
[https://t.co/rTuVcP3Da9] pic.twitter.com/6MMIKqEfhY
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) May 13, 2023
However, the gamble might just end up paying off. That is because of Mercedes’ engine-producing prowess. The German giants ruled the championship between 2014 and 2021, winning every constructors’ title.
That era also marked a major change in power unit regulations with hybrid engines making their place in F1. If McLaren manages to align their aerodynamic package better with the new engine, they might just beat their engine suppliers to the championship in 2026.
