McLaren has created a dedicated internal Mercedes power unit performance team as it seeks to extract more potential from the MCL40 and reduce the knowledge gap associated with being a customer outfit. The new department will specialise in data analysis, simulation work and energy-management optimisation while continuing to collaborate closely with Mercedes High Performance Powertrains.
McLaren technical director of performance Mark Temple explained that the specialist group will help the Woking team address one of the main limitations it has encountered since Formula 1 introduced its radically different 2026 regulations. Although McLaren receives the same fundamental power unit technology as the Mercedes works team, it does not have the same level of control over its design, installation and development direction.
McLaren identifies power unit as biggest 2026 challenge
The 2026 regulations represented one of the most significant technical revolutions in modern Formula 1, combining a new generation of power units with major aerodynamic changes. Teams were required to understand a redesigned hybrid system at the same time as adapting to lighter cars, different aerodynamic behaviour and active front and rear wings.
According to Mark Temple, the power unit has represented the greatest departure from the previous regulations. The chassis changes, while substantial, have involved a more gradual learning process.
“From the chassis point of view, we still have four round, black tyres,” Mark Temple said. “They behave differently, so you have to learn those differences, but it is a different version of the same thing. The power unit, on the other hand, is the biggest change.”
The combination of a more aerodynamically efficient car and a completely revised hybrid system has made the engineers’ work significantly more complicated. McLaren understood before the season that the new regulations would create difficulties, but some areas have taken longer to optimise than initially expected.
“At the start of the season, we knew it was going to be much more complex because so many things had changed,” Mark Temple explained. “The power unit was obviously the aspect that attracted the most attention. We knew it would be difficult to manage, but also that it would offer major performance opportunities.”
He added: “Some things have proved more challenging than we expected, and it has taken us longer to bring our processes and the way we prepare for each event up to the level we want. In reality, there is still a great deal of work to do.”
McLaren creates Mercedes power unit performance team
To address those challenges, McLaren has established an internal group focused specifically on the performance of the Mercedes power unit. Its objective is to improve the team’s understanding of the new hybrid system, maximise its available performance and reduce the operational gap to the Mercedes works outfit.
The department will analyse information collected at the circuit, conduct simulation work and use McLaren’s offline development tools. Its specialists will also collaborate directly with the race engineers to identify the most effective energy-management strategies for each Grand Prix.
“We have a power unit performance team now, which we did not have before,” Mark Temple said. “They are focused on understanding how to get the most from the power unit.
“They will study the track data and work with the race engineers, but they will also use our simulator and offline tools to maximise our performance. It is definitely a new set of skills and a new way of working.”
The new department represents McLaren’s internal response to the complexity of the 2026 regulations. It will allow the team to complement the work carried out alongside Mercedes High Performance Powertrains with an independent analysis of the MCL40’s specific requirements.
That added expertise could become particularly important as McLaren continues developing the car after its breakthrough at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Mercedes was surprised by the scale of the major MCL40 upgrade introduced in Budapest, where the Woking team finally converted its growing understanding of the car into a pole position and victory.
McLaren explains challenge of being a Mercedes customer team
Despite its close relationship with Mercedes High Performance Powertrains, McLaren must accept certain limitations connected to its status as a customer team. The Woking outfit can provide feedback and work closely with the power unit manufacturer, but it does not exercise the same control as the official Mercedes operation.
Mark Temple explained that the principal difference concerns how much influence each team has over design and installation decisions.
“I think part of it depends on how much influence you have over the design and installation,” he said. “We have considerable input, but ultimately it is Mercedes Grand Prix, together with HPP, that has the final say.”
McLaren’s technical director of performance stressed that this does not mean the team is excluded from discussions. Instead, McLaren simply occupies a different position from the works squad.
“That should not be interpreted as meaning that we are ignored,” Mark Temple added. “It is simply that we are not the ones with complete control.”
The new power unit performance team therefore has an important role to play. McLaren wants to accelerate its learning process by analysing the information received from Mercedes and adapting it to the MCL40’s specific characteristics and operational demands.
The approach reflects the broader development structure that helped produce McLaren’s progress in Hungary. The team’s extended development chain behind the Budapest breakthrough involved several connected updates rather than one isolated component.
Active aerodynamics changes work for McLaren drivers
The difficulties created by the 2026 power units have not affected only the engineers. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have also had to adapt their driving styles to the new hybrid technology, despite completing extensive simulator work during the winter.
Managing electrical energy, boost deployment and sudden reductions in available power proved very different under genuine racing conditions.
“It is completely different to be sitting in the simulator and being told that the way you are driving is not correct, compared with being on the track, racing other cars and feeling the loss of boost or the reduction in power,” Mark Temple explained.
In addition to the revised power units, the 2026 regulations introduced active aerodynamics, changing both the behaviour of the cars and the work required to set them up. The front and rear wings move between different configurations, including a low-drag setting used on the straights.
“Straight Mode is very different and has a major impact on the way we race,” Mark Temple said. “The fact that the front and rear wings move has a major effect, as does the fact that it is used on every lap of the race.”
According to Mark Temple, active aerodynamics has created new challenges when managing the car’s balance. However, the power unit remains the most significant area of change and the main focus of McLaren’s learning process.
McLaren targets further progress after Hungary victory
McLaren entered the summer break with renewed confidence after securing its first pole position and first victory of the season in Hungary. The result demonstrated the value of the team’s latest development work, although McLaren remains aware that its adaptation to the 2026 regulations is far from complete.
The complete 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix classification underlined the progress made by McLaren after a difficult opening phase of the championship.
The internal Mercedes power unit group will now become one of McLaren’s main tools for accelerating its understanding and improving engine management. The long-term aim is to gradually reduce the disadvantage to the works team while extracting more performance from the same basic power unit architecture.
“We arrive at the summer break with excellent momentum, but we know there is still a lot to learn, a great deal of ground to recover and plenty of room to improve during the second half of the season,” Mark Temple said.
McLaren’s objective will be to continue refining its procedures, maximise its collaboration with Mercedes HPP and transform the new internal department into a key element of its future growth. With the team currently attempting to close the gap at the top of the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship, every improvement in energy deployment and power unit operation could prove valuable.
The development battle is also becoming increasingly important across the leading teams. Ferrari has adopted a different race-by-race upgrade strategy as McLaren introduces larger packages, highlighting the contrasting approaches being used during Formula 1’s first season under the new regulations.
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