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Guenther Steiner does not understand how McLaren can use the same excuse to defend their double DNS in Shanghai when they performed well earlier in the weekend.
Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri failed to start the race, as McLaren cited power unit issues before retiring them from the grid.
McLaren suggested that both drivers’ cars had separate issues, as Zak Brown shared his frustration over the unfortunate situation.
Disaster for Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Alex Albon and Gabriel Bortoleto as they fail to start the Chinese Grand Prix!
With McLaren blaming their power unit, which is supplied by Mercedes, the talk about their issues with the German suppliers has become more prevalent.
Toto Wolff insisted Mercedes can’t cater to everyone in response to complaints from McLaren. But Guenther Steiner doesn’t see how McLaren can use the power unit as an excuse again.
READ MORE: Ralf Schumacher thinks McLaren are using Mercedes power unit as a distraction for tricky 2026 start
Guenther Steiner suggests McLaren’s power unit complaints inconsistent with Chinese GP weekend performance
Guenther Steiner spoke on the Red Flags podcast about McLaren’s disastrous performance at the Chinese Grand Prix.
He suggested that McLaren blaming the power unit doesn’t align with their seemingly decent performances earlier in the weekend, including a P4 finish in the sprint race.
“I find that one a little bit (hard to believe). Because they have done all the testing, they’ve done a race without a problem. I don’t know if they had a problem in testing.”
“They were running perfectly fine on Friday, running perfectly on Saturday, running perfectly on the sprint race. Then, all of a sudden, ‘Oh, we were not given the right information.’”
“You must have had the right information because it was working before. That seems to be a little far-fetched to me. Mistakes happen. They happen to the best, and it happened to a good team.”
“But therefore, they need a wake-up call because they maybe got a little complacent after winning two world championships.”
READ MORE: Toto Wolff’s Alpine investment talks could further jeopardise McLaren’s relationship with Mercedes
Is Lando Norris’ championship title defence already over?
Guenther Steiner shuts down ‘conspiracy’ that Mercedes intentionally withheld information about power unit
Speaking further on the matter, Steiner rejected any suggestion that Mercedes sabotaged McLaren in any capacity in the delivery of the power unit.
“I don’t think Mercedes did something wrong on purpose. That’s not going to happen. You don’t do that in this sport.”
“Nobody needs to do that. Especially not Mercedes, because they were not a threat to them anyway. Conspiracy theorists!”
McLaren have come under fire for their comments about Mercedes as an engine supplier. Some have suggested that McLaren didn’t work as hard as Mercedes in understanding and getting the most out of their power unit.
Whatever the reason is for the gap in knowledge between the two teams, McLaren must adapt quickly. Otherwise, they risk losing their constructors’ championship crown without any fight.
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