(Motorsport-Total.com) – Times change quickly. In recent years, there has been intense discussion about introducing the gearbox as a standard component for all teams to save costs, as it was increasingly no longer seen as a decisive performance factor in Formula 1. But with the comprehensive regulation reform for 2026, the gearbox has come back into focus in vehicle design.
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The clearest example of this is the contrast between Mercedes and McLaren. Although both teams use the same power unit, they exploit the Mercedes unit in noticeably different ways. This leads to differences not only in slow sections but also on the straights.
McLaren designs and manufactures its gearbox completely in-house – not only the housing but also the entire internal mechanism. In addition, the team has set different priorities for the gear ratios: The MCL40 is geared shorter.
“I think there are definitely pros and cons with the gear ratios,” explained McLaren team principal Andrea Stella on the sidelines of the Canadian Grand Prix. “Compared to Mercedes, we are on the shorter side. This can be an advantage, for example, when accelerating, possibly also at the start.”
This topic already became apparent in the first races of the season, but after five Grands Prix, the picture has become much clearer. The team from Woking often showed stronger starts than Mercedes despite having the same power unit. This suggested that Mercedes’ problems were not due to a single factor.
What the gear ratios bring
Just as the decision for a larger or smaller turbocharger brings both advantages and disadvantages, the same applies to different gearbox ratios. Given the characteristics of the current technical regulations, some teams, like Mercedes and Red Bull, have opted for relatively long lower gears.
This helps keep the engine speed higher in slow corners and maximizes battery charge. Different gearbox ratios mean different engine speeds and different engine loads, which is why they must be chosen carefully.
Shorter gear ratios, on the other hand, multiply the torque at the drive wheels, improving acceleration from a standstill. This is especially advantageous in the initial phase of acceleration without MGU-K, where the car relies solely on the combustion engine—provided the engineers have correctly estimated the available grip to avoid wheel spin.
However, the difference is not limited to race starts. It also affects acceleration throughout the entire lap. Data from the first races show a recurring trend, which Stella also confirms: The shorter the straight, the more competitive McLaren usually is.
Power management under scrutiny
It is true that McLaren still had to learn to fully exploit the Mercedes power unit in the first races of the season, as the team naturally lacked some of the manufacturer’s knowledge who developed it.
Nevertheless, this different approach was not only obvious in the first races but also at recent events, where different limits on energy recovery offered a broader perspective.
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Miami and Montreal represented opposite extremes. In Miami, the FIA allowed energy recovery of up to 8 MJ in qualifying—the maximum allowed by the regulations. In Canada, the limit was reduced to only 6 MJ per lap, requiring much more cautious and selective energy management.
Looking at Miami, McLaren was able to keep up with competitors on the first straight. But the longer the straight became, the more the MCL40 fell behind.
Interestingly, this behavior did not appear in Saturday’s qualifying before turn 11 for a specific reason: After problems exiting turn 16 in previous sessions, McLaren instructed its drivers to disable the so-called “superclipping” before braking for turn 11. This prevented the problem from recurring but also changed the battery strategy.
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As a result, McLaren suffered before the last braking zone at the end of the long straight from both its shorter eighth gear and the fact that a significant amount of electrical energy had already been consumed earlier in the lap. This led to a top speed deficit of more than ten km/h compared to Mercedes.
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A similar pattern appeared in Canada, although it was a completely different track in terms of energy recovery. On the first two short straights of the second sector, where top speeds were around 290 km/h, McLaren kept up with the performance of the Mercedes W17. However, on the long straight before the last chicane, Mercedes regained the advantage.
A look at the gearbox data further clarifies the picture. McLaren tends to drive one gear higher in several sections of the lap and shifts into eighth gear where others stay in seventh.
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On tracks where superclipping is particularly important, achieving a higher speed at the end of a straight can bring a double advantage—not only in lap time but also in energy recovery opportunities.
In the sprint qualifying on Friday in Canada, the deficit on the long straight was particularly large, sometimes over ten km/h. This was one of the reasons why McLaren modified its energy management strategy for Saturday to reduce the disadvantage.
“It can give you an advantage on a straight depending on the speed, but it can also have disadvantages,” Stella added. “For example, if we reach high speeds on a long straight like between turns 10 and 13, you might wish for a slightly longer eighth gear.”
“So it’s a double-edged sword where you want to apply leverage with the gear ratios.”
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There is not necessarily one universally better option. Rather, each approach has its strengths and weaknesses depending on where a team wants to gain time. On tracks with very long straights—especially where available energy is limited—Mercedes seems to have additional potential.
Conversely, McLaren can benefit from the stronger punch of its shorter gearing on tighter tracks with many acceleration phases.
The strength of the W17 so far has been that, apart from its higher downforce level (an area where McLaren is quickly catching up), it represents a compromise that makes it competitive on tracks with completely different characteristics.
There will be specific tracks where it struggles more, but overall, the way Mercedes generates lap time seems well suited for a variety of circuits beyond the pure quality of the power unit.
Gear ratios must be homologated at the start of the season and usually remain unchanged throughout the year. However, this season the regulations provide a one-time exception allowing teams to change them once.
Stella does not consider such a change necessary and argues that the advantages of the current McLaren setup outweigh the disadvantages and fit well with the overall philosophy of the MCL40.
“At the moment, we are happy with where we stand,” said Stella. “We are not considering rethinking our options, even though the regulations would allow it. We believe that some of the advantages we gain under conditions other than the longest straights put us in a positive position overall.”
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