McLaren had a ‘spectacular’ falling out with Mercedes after signing one of their F1 drivers

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Mercedes and McLaren are direct competitors at the front of the Formula 1 grid, but they are also allies.

The healthy relationship between the two teams stems from their engine deal. McLaren have been powered by Mercedes for 465 of their 994 races.

While the Woking outfit have had spells with Honda and Renault in the 21st century, they reunited with Mercedes in 2021 and the partnership will continue until at least 2030. McLaren haven’t won a race without the Silver Arrows’ engine in the back since 1993.

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Both Zak Brown and Toto Wolff had a fractious relationship with Red Bull while Christian Horner was in charge, and that mutual enemy may also have drawn them closer. But they haven’t always been on good terms.

Mercedes F1 CEO fumed at McLaren for snatching Jenson Button

Mercedes re-entered Formula 1 in 2010 after buying the title-winning Brawn GP team. Their initial plan was to retain Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, and field Nico Rosberg as his teammate.

But McLaren unexpectedly signed the British driver from their engine suppliers. As former communications director Matt Bishop recalled in a Motor Sport Magazine column, this left Mercedes F1 CEO Nick Fry apoplectic.

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Bishop acknowledges that McLaren showed a lack of ‘courtesy’ by giving Mercedes as little notice as possible before announcing Button. Indeed, Fry found out about the move on the radio.

After McLaren’s top managers, Ron Dennis and Martin Whitmarsh, ignored his calls, Fry got through to Bishop and delivered a ‘volley of abuse’.

Mercedes subsequently brought a 41-year-old Michael Schumacher out of retirement for their 2010 comeback, though he rarely displayed the form that made him a legend at Ferrari. Button would stay with McLaren until his retirement in 2016.

Is the Mercedes/McLaren engine partnership coming to end?

Heading into the 2026 season, Martin Brundle suspects that Toto Wolff is ‘desperate’ to beat McLaren. Mercedes have effectively been upstaged by a customer team for the last two years, with Zak Brown’s squad winning back-to-back constructors’ titles.

Indeed, since the start of 2024, McLaren have won 20 races to Mercedes’ six. The gap between the two at the end of last season was a whopping 364 points, which reflects the superiority of Brown’s operation.

Some at Mercedes want to stop supplying engines to McLaren altogether. The deal, while lucrative, may actively be harming their championship chances.

Mercedes will review their partnerships at the end of the decade and could choose to downsize.