Formula 1 Engine: Can McLaren Really Follow Red Bull’s Path?

(Motorsport-Total.com) – After the first few race weekends of the 2026 Formula 1 season, Andrea Stella made a statement that was as interesting as it was insightful. According to the Italian team principal, this is the first year in which McLaren feels the disadvantages of being a customer team in Formula 1.

Read more Red Bull: Max Verstappen names «top priority» for second half of the season

It is not about pointing fingers at Mercedes. Of course, after the Australian Grand Prix, there was some dissatisfaction in parts of the paddock, among other things because of the older engine specification during the winter tests and the so-called “knowledge gap” compared to the works team.

But Stella always emphasized that all this should not be understood as criticism of Mercedes High Performance Powertrains (HPP). In fact, he highlighted in every response that the relationship is very good.

Rather, it is simply the downside of being a customer team in this new era – especially under the current regulations, which are too complex and place enormous focus on what Stella likes to call “engine exploitation.”

It is precisely this exploitation of the engine that has overshadowed everything else in the first months of this year. It contributed to Mercedes’ furious start in Australia, with Mercedes staff emphasizing that the chassis side should not be forgotten. And to be fair, there is some truth to that point.

McLaren finally receives its long-awaited simulation tools

Nevertheless, the knowledge gap is real. It was particularly crucial in the first three race weekends before the April break, but even after that, teams like McLaren were surprised a few times.

This happened, for example, in Silverstone, where Mercedes applied its now well-known qualifying trick. Just before the finish line, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli lifted off the throttle to bypass the normal “ramp-down rate” and use the 350 kW electric power for longer.

Mercedes and Red Bull had tried something similar with the power unit earlier this year, but the FIA put a stop to it. According to the regulations, however, it is still allowed via so-called “negative driver intervention” – including lifting off the throttle – as confirmed by FIA official Nikolas Tombazis.

This shows that customers like McLaren are constantly one step behind in engine exploitation. This applies not only to such clever exploitation tricks but also to the available tools. Stella revealed in Spa, for example, that his team had received several simulation tools before the Belgian Grand Prix that they had requested for some time.

Interim reports: The best Formula 1 drivers at the summer break

“Now as a customer team, we are finally getting the tools. Where are we, at race 10? We are finally getting the tools to actually simulate before the event. So there is a lot of work in this preparation,” said Stella – and immediately emphasized again that it is absolutely not about pointing fingers at HPP.

“That was never a point where we created any kind of controversy or polemic with HPP. We know they have worked very hard. They were certainly very, very busy, and one of the elements that somehow led to some disadvantages is the fact that some of these tools simply were not available because of the schedule,” said Stella.

Nevertheless, McLaren considers these tools important to make progress in engine exploitation and ideally reach the same level as the works team. Stella explains: “You need models of the engine itself to be able to test different parameters.”

You have to “see how the engine would react, but also to optimize usage, optimize driving, and for example optimize the gears and so on. I think I was clear from the start of the season that we were somewhat behind in terms of this availability.”

Following Red Bull’s path is easier said than done

It is precisely this last point that has raised the question in the paddock whether McLaren could eventually develop its own engine. Especially since McLaren CEO Zak Brown did not completely rule out this option earlier this year.

When the future was discussed, the American replied: “Now we just have to wait and see what the [next] regulations look like. And if we find them interesting, we might take a look at it.”

Red Bull Ford Powertrains provides a successful example. Many in the paddock expected the Bulls to struggle in 2026, which has been the case so far, but for a different reason than expected.

Read more Honda announces schedule for return to the top of Formula 1

Of course, Mercedes and Ferrari played the game cleverly, which influenced the ADUO results, and Red Bull certainly does not have the best power unit when looking at the electrical components. Nevertheless, the project has made an impressive start.

It shows that it is basically possible to build such a project from scratch and be successful and, above all, no longer be dependent on an external supplier. But McLaren insiders emphasize that their situation is not fully comparable to Red Bull’s, and they are right for two reasons.

On the one hand, the financial situation of a racing team like McLaren is different from that of the parent company behind Red Bull Racing. Despite existing restrictions, Red Bull GmbH was able to invest heavily in the state-of-the-art facility in Milton Keynes and poach staff from Mercedes HPP.

Both went hand in hand, as the first departures from HPP played an important role in building the Red Bull facility and could draw on their Mercedes experience. Following Red Bull’s example is easier said than done, and McLaren is all too aware of this behind the scenes.

The role the next engine regulations play

There are also two ways to look at a new rulebook. If Formula 1 becomes simpler, with, for example, a V8 and a small electrical component, then it would theoretically be more manageable for a newcomer to build their own engine.

At the same time, many of the problems customer teams are now talking about would disappear. Engine exploitation would also become significantly easier, which would reduce this “knowledge gap.”

There is a reason why Stella said this is the first year McLaren suffers from being a customer team, without having experienced the same disadvantages with earlier engines that required less energy management.

Basically, it all comes down to the complexity of the current regulations, and if this complexity disappears, the same could apply to most disadvantages of a customer team.

Brown is therefore right when he says McLaren would be well advised to wait and see what the new regulations look like, but not only in the way this quote was interpreted. It could also mean that the need for its own engine project largely disappears.

Until then, however, the intervening years until 2031 – or potentially 2030 – have to be bridged. And for these years, McLaren has internally adopted a different mindset. Team members say the team essentially has to think as if it is building its own engine.

It has to think like a manufacturer to avoid constantly being surprised and one step behind. However, this is once again much easier said than done, as the number of engineers specifically focusing on the engine is understandably only a fraction of what Mercedes HPP has.

But it is the mindset that the Woking-based team is now trying to create internally: to think like a works team and, on this basis, ask Mercedes HPP the right questions before something even becomes a problem.

In this respect, great strides have been made since the season opener and the initial frustration in Australia. McLaren is not there yet, but if it can gradually reduce the disadvantages Stella talks about, then its own engine project might no longer be necessary.

Of course, another manufacturer in the next rule cycle would be good for Formula 1, but following Red Bull’s path is easier said than done. And maybe it wouldn’t even be necessary with a proper set of regulations.

Read more Bortoleto excites Audi: McNish praises the Brazilian’s potential