McLaren is still working to fully understand how to extract the maximum from the Mercedes power unit in the 2026 Formula 1 season. Andrea Stella, the team principal, stated that the team has only recently started to have the “necessary tools” to anticipate and study the engine’s behavior.
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Since the beginning of the new era of regulations, Stella has highlighted that McLaren, the current constructors’ champion, has not been able to exploit the Mercedes unit to the same extent as the factory team. Adaptation problems became evident in China, when the team had a double non-start: Lando Norris could not leave the pits, while Oscar Piastri was withdrawn from the grid still on the formation lap.
Stella acknowledged that McLaren is at a disadvantage for being a Mercedes customer: “There are still some random factors that, in my opinion, are only apparently random,” Stella told the press. “Like, this is engineering; things happen for a reason, not by chance. Sometimes, these reasons are so sensitive to small parameters that change that it seems you can figure out, at least in the short term, the reason.”
“So, I think we are still a bit far off. I would say a few races away from having a full understanding of the behavior and exploitation of the power unit,” the executive continued.
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“It is only now, mid-season, that we are starting to have the necessary tools to anticipate, optimize, and study these sensitivities, so that we know that, like, if this small change happens, we will have these bigger changes as a consequence, which at the moment, and for some time, we were not able to do.”
Despite the difficulties, Stella emphasized that collaboration with Mercedes remains fundamental for McLaren to better exploit the power unit.
“But this is something like the exploitation of the power unit that will not be possible without strong collaboration with HPP, something I have always reiterated. Even when I mentioned that we are under-exploiting, I have always reiterated that the collaboration is excellent.”
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