In the first ten years after the power unit regulations came into effect, the Constructors’ World Championship in F1 was always won by teams with official engine suppliers. From 2014 to 2021, Mercedes dominated the titles, while in 2022 and 2023, the baton was passed to Red Bull, Honda’s reference team.
After the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which officially marked McLaren’s historic triumph, Toto Wolff was reminded of a statement he made a few years ago in which he claimed it was impossible for a customer team to aim for the top achievements. “I think it was a prediction shaped by the mindset of the time,” Wolff replied before elaborating further.
In 2014, the power unit factor was so predominant that it allowed Williams, powered by Mercedes, to finish the season in third place in the Constructors’ Championship. Ten years later, with the same power unit as the world champion team, the Grove squad ended up second to last. The process of leveling the engine variable began in October 2015, when the FIA introduced a ban on using different power unit specifications between official and customer teams.
Two years later, the International Federation went even further, mandating that the engine management software also had to be identical—a significant change that eliminated differences, particularly in qualifying, where more aggressive engine maps used only by official teams provided a clear advantage over the standard configurations available to customers. The market for fluids, such as fuels, oils, and coolants, was the only area left open.
Following the standardization of power units, the development freeze was introduced starting in the 2022 season. This decision ensured performance stability among engines. Additionally, in the previous season, prompted by financial challenges during the COVID period, the introduction of the budget cap was brought forward by twelve months. This leveling of spending capabilities (albeit with a longer process linked to infrastructure) undoubtedly benefited private teams.
Alongside the budget cap, ATR (Aerodynamic Testing Regulation) rules also came into effect in 2021. These regulations define the number of wind tunnel tests and the hours available for CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations, penalizing top teams proportionally based on their position in the Constructors’ standings.
“The ATR rules have had and continue to have a significant effect,” confirmed Wolff. “Now we are fourth in the championship and will have 20% more resources than McLaren. Last year, they were in exactly the position we are in today.”
“But I don’t want to say they won solely because of this,” Wolff added. “They brought a good and bold project to the track, had the right leadership, and good drivers, and we must credit them for that. A year and a half ago, McLaren couldn’t make it out of Q1, and now they’re Constructors’ World Champions. Who would have imagined that at the start of 2023?”
After the Yas Marina race, Andrea Stella was asked if he felt particularly proud of reaching the pinnacle with a customer team. The McLaren team principal confirmed that there are no longer significant differences compared to an official team.
“I believe that thanks to the good work done by the FIA in ensuring parity of conditions in the use of the PU between customer and official teams, we are quite assured regarding engine performance. We know customers have the same performance as an official team. Again, the FIA has done a good job in allowing customer teams the opportunity to win races and championships on par with official teams.”
McLaren’s resurgence began long ago, with extensive work carried out by Andrea Stella and Zak Brown, from changing the team’s mindset to strategic decisions that brought highly skilled individuals to Woking and optimized investments in the right direction.
However, the FIA’s decisions over the years also played a crucial role, with directives aimed at creating a technically balanced scenario that provided teams with equal opportunities. McLaren’s success confirms that the chosen path is the right one.
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