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McLaren knew it would be difficult to win at the start of the new regulations when they extended their contract with engine suppliers Mercedes, according to a report.
After three races, reigning champions McLaren are already 89 points behind Mercedes in the constructors’ standings. The team’s double DNS in China factors heavily into the deficit, but reliability was always likely to be a major differentiator.
In 2024, McLaren came from 115 points behind Red Bull to win their first title of the 21st century. They could soon be facing a similar gap as they try to extend their streak to three in a row.
Zak Brown guarantees that McLaren will win ‘sooner rather than later’
When do you expect them to get off the mark under the new rules?
Mercedes are only willing to offer McLaren the bare minimum
The last time there was a major change to the engine regulations in 2014, McLaren quickly pivoted from Mercedes to Honda. Ron Dennis was ‘convinced’ that this de facto works deal was necessary to win.
The reunion with Honda was a disaster, and McLaren eventually reunited with Mercedes in 2021 after a spell with Renault. Looking ahead to the 2026-2030 rules cycle, they decided to ‘maintain the status quo’ by renewing their contract.
- READ MORE: Key voices at Mercedes want to ‘get rid’ of world champions McLaren as an engine customer
McLaren always knew that they would ‘pay the price’ for this decision, ‘at least initially’. Mercedes have ‘no interest whatsoever’ in offering them ‘the best possible service’ given that they are clearly the biggest threat within their stable.
As was predicted, the Mercedes engine is the best on the grid. If that advantage lasts, then McLaren will be well-placed to win races and potentially titles once they close the knowledge gap with their suppliers.
Mercedes won’t send their best engineers to McLaren
Mercedes are required to provide McLaren with identical hardware and software. But they also deploy engineers from their powertrains department, and they are likely to reserve the best talent for themselves.
McLaren realised in Australia that they were using the engine ‘in a very different way’ from Mercedes, which led them to ‘demand better collaboration’.
Their strong performance in Japan, where Oscar Piastri qualified third behind Kimi Antonelli and George Russell then finished second, suggests they are making progress.
There was tension between Mercedes and McLaren over the perceived lack of support, but this now seems to have cooled.
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