McLaren and Mercedes together until 2030: agreement for the new era of F1 power units

McLaren And Mercedes-Benz have today announced the renewal of the power unit supply from 2026 to 2030, making Woking the brand’s first customer for the new 2026 power unit regulations together with the official team. McLaren has been powered by Mercedes since 2021 and previously did so from 1995 to 2014 continuously. 2026 will therefore mark the 26th year of collaboration between the two prestigious brands.

partnerships

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“We are pleased to continue our partnership with McLaren Racing until at least the end of this decade – commented Markus Schaefer, member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz – the long-term nature of this agreement reflects our shared trust and our commitment to our future power unit strategy. Together, we look forward to building momentum towards 2026 and the start of another new era of innovative electrified powertrains in Formula 1.” Mercedes achieved the first ever hybrid F1 race victory at the 2009 Hungarian GP with the KERS system and has led the way in innovation and performance since the introduction of current powertrain regulations in 2014. Mercedes-AMG achieved 114 victories in 203 grands prix, including two for customer teams.

Wolff speaks

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“Working with strong customer teams has been a cornerstone of our motorsport strategy – explained Mercedes-Benz Motorsport team principal Toto Wolff – this has many advantages: it provides a clear competitive reference point, accelerates our technical learning and strengthens the overall F1 business for Mercedes-Benz. McLaren has been a tough and fair competition since 2021, especially in the second half of this season. McLaren’s strong performances underline the importance of a transparent and fair offer to all customer teams in this sport, if we wish to reach the goal of 10 teams capable of fighting for the podium”.

the news for 2026

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2026 will be an important year as Formula 1 welcomes two new powertrain manufacturers in addition to the current four manufacturers, while facing another change in technical regulations. The new engines will benefit from 50% internal combustion and 50% electric power. This was achieved by increasing the electrical performance and rebalancing the performance of the internal combustion engine, to deliver a maximum power of over 1000 horsepower. The new powertrains will run on 100% sustainable fuel – which will comply with rigorous sustainability criteria in both production and formulation – and overall fuel consumption will be reduced. The powertrain’s electrical systems have been taken to the next level of performance and the power units will have a single 350 kW electric motor, which is almost three times more powerful than the current MGU-K, and will require the development of a suitable electric motor to high power. Furthermore, the development of the new generation of engines will take place in compliance with budget cap regulations.

speak brown

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Zak Brown, team principal and CEO of McLaren, said: “Mercedes-Benz has been a brilliant and reliable partner of McLaren. The extension of this agreement demonstrates the trust that our shareholders and the wider team have in their powertrains and the direction we are taking them with them into the new era of regulations that awaits us. We have had success together, both in the last three seasons and when they have strengthened the team, so we look forward to success as we continue our journey to consistently battle at the front of the grid.”