Mercedes chief thinks McLaren will ‘certainly’ give them an instant ‘upside’ in F1’s 2026 rules cycle

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Mercedes are maturing a greater belief that they will be competitive under the 2026 engine and aerodynamic regulations when F1 introduces its largest rule change ever.

Never before has F1 overhauled its rulebook to the extent of the 2026 regulations, featuring new power unit, chassis and aerodynamic rules as well as smaller Pirelli tyres. Next season’s cars should also be lighter and will boast active aerodynamics for the first time in F1 history.

Some teams tested Pirelli’s 2026 F1 tyre range in Hungary following this month’s Grand Prix, during which Ferrari tested an exploratory active front wing on Charles Leclerc’s car. But the only testing that F1’s five engine manufacturers for 2026 can carry out remains on test beds.

Audi will join the F1 grid in 2026 as a fully-fledged works team, while Red Bull will also bring their first in-house power unit with Honda moving to Aston Martin. Alternatively, Alpine will run Mercedes engines in 2026 after closing their works factory to become a customer team.

Mercedes think the data from their engine customers gives them an advantage for F1’s 2026 rules

Alpine will join McLaren and Williams as customer Mercedes power unit teams for the start of the 2026 F1 regulations era. McLaren and Williams both have contracts to buy Mercedes engines through 2030, after they each extended them in November 2023 and January 2024.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and aerodynamic rules

It is also widely expected that Mercedes will design the best 2026 F1 rules engine. And chief communications officer Bradley Lord believes boasting three customer engine crews, as well as their works team, will afford Mercedes an immediate advantage over some of their rivals.

Lord told GPblog: “It brings with it the challenge of needing to have more parts ready, more power units ready [and] more products ready sooner in order to enable those four teams to go testing and go racing, and things like that.

“One of the upsides is certainly that you get more extensive prove-out mileage, and you’re learning at a faster rate thanks to the mileage that all eight power units will be doing at the first race weekend. That will certainly be positive.”

Mercedes will have the most engines on the 2026 F1 grid

Mercedes will have the most engines on the 2026 F1 grid with eight via Alpine, McLaren and Williams using their power units. Ferrari will boast the next most with six, as 2026 debutants Cadillac will join Haas as their engine customers, ahead of Red Bull (4), Audi and Honda (2).

READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Audi will not enjoy any customer teams, so they will be going it alone when the German car brand takes over Sauber next season. The incoming Red Bull Powertrains will supply engines for Red Bull Racing and sister team Racing Bulls, with Honda working for Aston Martin alone.

Having a larger data pool from pre-season testing and the first round at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8 will no doubt help Mercedes, should any problems arise with their new engine, especially as questions persist about Audi, Red Bull and Ferrari’s 2026 engines.

It could also only serve to further strengthen the growing belief that ESPN reports Mercedes hold that they will be competitive under F1’s 2026 regulations. So, team principal Toto Wolff feels Mercedes are in a luxurious position to discuss George Russell’s new contract for 2026.