Will Mercedes hand over the playbook? The politics behind McLaren's push for engine 'know how'
Under the Federation Internationale L’Automobile (FIA) 2026 “equalisation” laws, Mercedes is legally obligated to provide McLaren with identical hardware and software maps. But the “instruction manual” isn’t a book: it’s the millions of simulations hours that tell you how to actually use the thing. In my opinion is that Mercedes is currently using their customer base as a mining operation while keeping the “cheat codes” for themselves.
The FIA mandates that all customer engines must be identical to the works team. However, there is a massive gap between having the engine and understanding it. McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella recently admitted that McLaren has been “learning on the fly” during the first few rounds of 2026, claiming a lack of detailed information from Mercedes High Performance Powertrains (HPP). The 2026 units are 50% electric. While McLaren has the same “MGU-K maps” as Mercedes, they don’t have Mercedes’ internal simulation data that tells them exactly how those maps interact with the chassis’ aerodynamic load.
Mercedes HPP designed the 2026 unit alongside the Mercedes chassis. McLaren is a “customer” trying to solve a puzzle where they didn’t see the picture on the box. Reports indicate that works teams had “immediate access” to development data during the design phase, while customers like McLaren received the finalised “package” much later. McLaren boss Stella admitted the team is “a little puzzled” by the speed difference and is currently “learning on the fly” how to exploit the power unit (PU).
In the 2026 era, the “instruction manual” isn’t a physical book: it’s the millions of virtual miles run in Brixworth. As of late March, McLaren has been “taken aback” by its deficit to Mercedes in understanding how to optimise the new PU around a lap. While the hardware is identical, McLaren is “learning on the fly,” effectively reverse engineering the engine’s behaviour during race weekends because they lack the preseason simulation depth that Mercedes HPP shares only with its works team. Rumours are already swirling about a Mercedes compression ratio “trick.” If true Mercedes knows exactly how to manage the heat of this “expanding” engine, while McLaren is left to monitor sensors and hope they don’t melt.
The challenge isn’t what Mercedes gives McLaren – it’s what they don’t share. The “instruction manual” is actually millions of hours of R&D simulation data that McLaren simply doesn’t have. While Mercedes have developed the PU and chassis in tandem since 2022, McLaren is forced into a reactive approach. Team Principal Stella admitted that McLaren has been “learning on the fly,” often only discovering the engine’s true behaviour once the car hits the track.
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