WHY MCLAREN IS NOT AS FAST AS MERCEDES DESPITE HAVING SAME ENGINE
McLaren and Mercedes work together in Formula 1 because the latter supplies the engine that McLaren uses in its car. On paper, this means both teams run the same power unit. In reality, things are more complicated.
Mercedes provides the base engine to its customer teams, including McLaren. However, once the engine is delivered, Mercedes is not required to share every detail about how to get the maximum performance from it. The customer team receives the hardware, but much of the deeper knowledge about how to use it most effectively can remain within the Mercedes team. Additionally, they have a different software.
Because of this, McLaren may not always have the same information as Mercedes when it comes to optimizing the engine’s performance on track. This is costing valuable time and performance during races and development mainly in the 2026 regulations, where the battery and MGU-K efficiency are a must to be on top.
There is an important rule though: If McLaren asks the right technical questions about the engine, Mercedes must answer them truthfully. The responsibility is partly on the customer team to investigate and ask the correct questions that lead to useful information.
Andrea Stella, the team principal of McLaren, understands that Mercedes is not obligated to share everything automatically. Still, he reportedly did not expect the amount of information provided to be so limited.
A similar situation also applies to James Vowles. As a former Mercedes strategist and now the leader of Williams Racing, he is also familiar with the balance between what Mercedes must share and what it can keep internal.
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