2026 McLaren Mastercard F1 Team

[AR3-GP]

Big difference in gear ratios between Mclaren and Mercedes.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HBImPP2awAA ... =4096x4096

I wonder if the gearboxes are homologated yet, or if they are able to bring changes prior to Melbourne.
I'd assume we'll see a more engine braking this year, I wonder what toll that will take on the engines and gearbox over time, and how that is going to affect the brake balance and car balance going in to and through corners, drivers will have to work hard to keep the rear in check and to regenerate.

Apparently Merc are indeed concerned about excessive engine braking.

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/merced ... -concerns/

It seems like Mclaren would be more vulnerable to this on account of their relatively short first gear, which is going to cause a bigger over-rev when downshifting aggressively to 1st. Mclarens 1st gear is comparable to that of Ferrari, who does not use 1st gear at all.

[ME4ME]

with a shorter gears, they could aim for the battery pack to take up a larger share (than other teams) of the 'aero load' in the straights (ICE will be at higher rpms, but not burning as much fuel) and vice versa (battery pack taking lesser share w.r.t other teams, of the 'aero load' through medium/high speed corners). Battery discharge of power being a more efficient activity than ICE discharge of power, it can only mean that by using higher RPM on the ICE in the medium/high speed sections, they are using ICE power more effectively (more recharge at these speeds than others), and by having low drag in the straights, they are using battery power more effectively.

This goes against the traditional notion that if you choose shorter gears, your top speed will be limited. Because whatever be the gearing, the ratios are never chosen such that ICE rpm becomes a limitation anyway; it has always been the drag being the limitation. And I believe even in these regulation sets, no team will choose ICE rpm to be defining their limit at top gear. And we are not talking about big differences in the ratios across teams - that whole chart is ranging between 80% to 100%.
.....
No.. 'larger share' / 'lesser share' - I meant relative to others. let's say someone (say mercedes) chose 80:20 as the ICE:MGU energy share for a particular stretch. After looking at that chart, McLaren could be doing 83:17 with shorter gears or be one gear higher and still make it 75:25 for the same stretch. What I wrote about, was all 'in relative terms'. Using more battery for climbing from 300 to 330 kph in a straight will make sense because drag is growing exponentially, and given the fact that torque delivery tapers off at higher RPMs -> this will be a most efficient strategy, if McLaren have the 'lowest Cd of all'. That's what I meant.

To me your reasoning makes little sense, technically and conclusionally. But I guess we'll all find out a lot more soon enough.
Pre-season = speculation season

[mwillems]

I wonder if the gearboxes are homologated yet, or if they are able to bring changes prior to Melbourne.
I'd assume we'll see a more engine braking this year, I wonder what toll that will take on the engines and gearbox over time, and how that is going to affect the brake balance and car balance going in to and through corners, drivers will have to work hard to keep the rear in check and to regenerate.

Apparently Merc are indeed concerned about excessive engine braking.

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/merced ... -concerns/

It seems like Mclaren would be more vulnerable to this on account of their relatively short first gear, which is going to cause a bigger over-rev when downshifting aggressively to 1st. Mclarens 1st gear is comparable to that of Ferrari, who does not use 1st gear at all.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HBNP_93bIAA ... =4096x4096

This comes back to my point earlier that with longer or shorter gearing, you'd be able to find a gear that isn't too harsh on the engine, but perhaps not offering ootimal regeneration.

I think the trick with the gears will be getting the gearing that suits the car, but also the way it can be driven through certain corner profiles so that engine breaking is in the sweets spot in the more common profiles. And this may be what Mclaren has actually done, I don't know.

I imagine another issue with using engine breaking is it is less precise than using the brakes and brake balance, so I imagine it will take some effort to keep the rear in check, maximise energy recovery and get through the corner quickly.

I wonder what effect this will have on the behaviour of the front of the car.

[mwillems]

As well as not overusing the rears.

[AR3-GP]

I imagine another issue with using engine breaking is it is less precise than using the brakes and brake balance, so I imagine it will take some effort to keep the rear in check, maximise energy recovery and get through the corner quickly.

A good F1 team is going to integrate the downshifts into the brake-by-wire logic. So the brake-by-wire controller predicts the downshift torque reversal based on the current wheel speed, current engine speed, current gear, next gear, and could blend out the mechanical brakes automatically while the downshift occurs to avoid sudden rear wheel locking.

[FittingMechanics]

To me this looks like continuation of gearing from last year where McLaren never had highest top speed but it was fastest in the corners. This was either because they knew they have more drag or that they were willing to trade top speed for acceleration (and qualy speed for race speed).

With 2026 harvesting it is possible no one will really be for long at top speed so having shorter gears is likely to be less of a problem, but it may mean they are weaker in qualy than in race.

Idea that McLaren short gears means they will use electrical power later on the straight seems wrong to me. The sooner you can use it the better (if you don't spin your wheels or overheat rears).

Shorter gears (and first) should mean they have better starts as well. Another potential benefit.

[AR3-GP]

To me this looks like continuation of gearing from last year where McLaren never had highest top speed but it was fastest in the corners. This was either because they knew they have more drag or that they were willing to trade top speed for acceleration (and qualy speed for race speed).

With 2026 harvesting it is possible no one will really be for long at top speed so having shorter gears is likely to be less of a problem, but it may mean they are weaker in qualy than in race.

Idea that McLaren short gears means they will use electrical power later on the straight seems wrong to me. The sooner you can use it the better (if you don't spin your wheels or overheat rears).

Shorter gears (and first) should mean they have better starts as well. Another potential benefit.

I would argue it's a little bit of the opposite here. In this energy starved formula, you want to be very aero efficient because drag eats energy that you would otherwise recover. Drag also makes the straights take longer (meaning you have to deploy more and have a lower battery). It is a vicious cycle. The downforce that they generate from this design has to compensate much more for that in 2026 than it did in 2025.

[FittingMechanics]

To me this looks like continuation of gearing from last year where McLaren never had highest top speed but it was fastest in the corners. This was either because they knew they have more drag or that they were willing to trade top speed for acceleration (and qualy speed for race speed).

With 2026 harvesting it is possible no one will really be for long at top speed so having shorter gears is likely to be less of a problem, but it may mean they are weaker in qualy than in race.

Idea that McLaren short gears means they will use electrical power later on the straight seems wrong to me. The sooner you can use it the better (if you don't spin your wheels or overheat rears).

Shorter gears (and first) should mean they have better starts as well. Another potential benefit.

I would argue it's a little bit of the opposite here. In this energy starved formula, you want to be very aero efficient because drag eats energy that you would otherwise recover. Drag also makes the straights take longer (meaning you have to deploy more and have a lower battery). It is a vicious cycle. The downforce that they generate from this design has to compensate much more for that in 2026 than it did in 2025.

But if you know you will harvest after 330 you don't need gears to go to 350.

Also having shorter gears doesn't mean you can run "faster than gears" by using MGU-K. At least I don't think you can, maybe you can move your ICE further in rpm range (as power falls).

[AR3-GP]

But if you know you will harvest after 330 you don't need gears to go to 350.

If you hope to overtake anyone ever, you do. Although maybe Mclaren realized that overtake mode is really useless as I was suggesting in pre-season thread.

[mwillems]

But if you know you will harvest after 330 you don't need gears to go to 350.

If you hope to overtake anyone ever, you do. Although maybe Mclaren realized that overtake mode is really useless as I was suggesting in pre-season thread.

It's the point I made at the start, the shorter top end gearing may indicate more drag or less energy efficiency than others.

Of course it may be spot on, but you kind of think that as FM says, they have geared for the speed they think they can reach and fearing could be an indicator that they are slower than others.

[AR3-GP]

But if you know you will harvest after 330 you don't need gears to go to 350.

If you hope to overtake anyone ever, you do. Although maybe Mclaren realized that overtake mode is really useless as I was suggesting in pre-season thread.

It's the point I made at the start, the shorter top end gearing may indicate more drag or less energy efficiency than others.

Of course it may be spot on, but you kind of think that as FM says, they have geared for the speed they think they can reach.

Yes I agree with that, for better or worse. I think it is already an indication that the Mclaren is quite draggy again. One assumes they will need a similar or greater downforce advantage than last year to compensate.

[AR3-GP]

Mclaren never featured above the low drag-high efficiency diagonal of the f1telem downforce map on any of the test days. They were always below the diagonal. Ferrari and Red Bull took turns above the diagonal. Mclaren seems to have similar characteristics to last year.

[FittingMechanics]

But if you know you will harvest after 330 you don't need gears to go to 350.

If you hope to overtake anyone ever, you do. Although maybe Mclaren realized that overtake mode is really useless as I was suggesting in pre-season thread.

It's the point I made at the start, the shorter top end gearing may indicate more drag or less energy efficiency than others.

Of course it may be spot on, but you kind of think that as FM says, they have geared for the speed they think they can reach and fearing could be an indicator that they are slower than others.

I don't think it means they are slower (laptime wise). I do think they are continuing their philosophy which seems to be maximize corner performance and deal with the rest. They had a draggy car in 2025, it was a problem if they fell behind someone with high top speed but it worked out.

My point is that in 2026 these high top speeds may be even less useful. You will never reach 350 kph in race because it is inefficient way to do a lap.

[mwillems]

Mclaren seem to be one of the faster Mercs. Either the Merc engine is sandbagged for political reasons or we just aren't in the same league as Ferrari and Red Bull.

However, the chances that Merc engines are not showing their pace may well be real.

It's very much wait and see on all fronts.

[mwillems]

If you hope to overtake anyone ever, you do. Although maybe Mclaren realized that overtake mode is really useless as I was suggesting in pre-season thread.

It's the point I made at the start, the shorter top end gearing may indicate more drag or less energy efficiency than others.

Of course it may be spot on, but you kind of think that as FM says, they have geared for the speed they think they can reach and fearing could be an indicator that they are slower than others.

I don't think it means they are slower (laptime wise). I do think they are continuing their philosophy which seems to be maximize corner performance and deal with the rest. They had a draggy car in 2025, it was a problem if they fell behind someone with high top speed but it worked out.

My point is that in 2026 these high top speeds may be even less useful. You will never reach 350 kph in race because it is inefficient way to do a lap.

It is if you need to overtake, and we've seen that over tbe past two seasons with Mclaren, where tbe fastest car in a circuit can be beaten. In this formula, drag is more important than before for that and for efficiency.