2026 McLaren Mastercard F1 Team

[upsidedowntoast]

This is insane from @TrakSIms
All 22,324 Race laps from 2025. Every compound. Every driver.
7 days until we start filling in 2026.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCRb4kaW4AE ... =4096x4096

Who is this, are they a twitter account? can you link me?

[mwillems]

This is insane from @TrakSIms
All 22,324 Race laps from 2025. Every compound. Every driver.
7 days until we start filling in 2026.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCRb4kaW4AE ... =4096x4096

what is the ordering theme, left to right ? most divergence -> least divergence ?

is a sort of fastest laps per driver. I also talked to TrakSim cause for eq in quali graph I think some adjustments need to be made to the median. Is strange Colapinto to be fastest on the grid, due to less wet sessions.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCReDp8XIAA ... =4096x4096

And what mwillems was saying about 2026 testing is in this graph. Pre-season testing pace — top 25% of team laps.
Tiers feel fairly defined. Big 4 up front, with McLaren probably 4th right now. I'd have Haas over Audi, tight with Alpine. And if you squint hard at Aston Martin's best laps… they might not actually be last?

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

Anyway, amazing job to gather all this data and to show under this form.

Ahh thanks, that's the kind of data we need to see.

The consistency or Merc's runs showing that they haven't really stretched their legs.

[_cerber1]

McLaren's use of harder tire compounds makes me optimistic. These graphics are indeed very interesting.

[mwillems]

Yes, I looked at that and thought Mclaren could easily be 2nd fastest. But it's still all heavily masked. Definately feels like we'll be fighting at the pointy end.

[upsidedowntoast]

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

McLaren's use of harder tire compounds makes me optimistic. These graphics are indeed very interesting.

Can someone tell me which color is which tyre compond? It just says soft/med/hard on the legend, but for example I know Charles' 1:31.992 run was done on C4, and both C3 and C4 are yellow. But then I see a bunch of red dots. Except very few teams even touched the C5 at all during testing.

[Jaymz]

Very interesting indeed from McLaren using hards the most out of the big teams. If the tricks of other teams don't bring significant gains then McLaren could be dominant again. The car looks very tidy.

[SilviuAgo]

This is insane from @TrakSIms
All 22,324 Race laps from 2025. Every compound. Every driver.
7 days until we start filling in 2026.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCRb4kaW4AE ... =4096x4096

Who is this, are they a twitter account? can you link me?

Sure, my pleasure. This is my friends account: https://x.com/TrackSimsF1 Enjoy!

[Paa]

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

Anyway, amazing job to gather all this data and to show under this form.

IS this really accurate? Based on this Merc did not do any lap slower than ~1:37.6xx. But I clearly remember Kimi Antonelli doing 1:40.xxx laps in the first stint of his race sim. Why are these not included?

edit: ah, top 25% of laps I just read
but then it can be just different testing methods. Some teams doing more runs with heavier load etc.

[AR3-GP]

Can Mercedes truly find an edge over its engine customers early in these regulations, even when the rules insist that it cannot give a customer an inferior engine? Hywel Thomas, the managing director of Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, suggested how that can be so.

He told The Times: “As a works team, 45 minutes down the road [between HPP and the F1 factory], there are just more links. There’s more links between the engineering groups, there’s more links between the hierarchy of the organisations. You would naturally think that there’s a benefit and there’s more advantage.

“On most things, the chassis teams agree [with the power unit side], so it isn’t a big deal. But when there’s something where perhaps the works team will be going in one slight direction, and the customer says, ‘Oh, can’t we go in a different [design] direction?’ It will always be the works team that you follow.”

https://www.planetf1.com/news/hywel-tho ... ge-f1-2026

[genarro]

Can Mercedes truly find an edge over its engine customers early in these regulations, even when the rules insist that it cannot give a customer an inferior engine? Hywel Thomas, the managing director of Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, suggested how that can be so.

He told The Times: “As a works team, 45 minutes down the road [between HPP and the F1 factory], there are just more links. There’s more links between the engineering groups, there’s more links between the hierarchy of the organisations. You would naturally think that there’s a benefit and there’s more advantage.

“On most things, the chassis teams agree [with the power unit side], so it isn’t a big deal. But when there’s something where perhaps the works team will be going in one slight direction, and the customer says, ‘Oh, can’t we go in a different [design] direction?’ It will always be the works team that you follow.”

https://www.planetf1.com/news/hywel-tho ... ge-f1-2026

It is a certain advantage to codevelop the engine and chasis to be in harmony one to another, however i think that is a very small advantage.

Everyone i upping the Mercedes team to dominate (or to be on top) because they nailed the hybrid regs in 2014. However i personaly think that this time they wont. Cost cap, same engine modes... they are up against McLaren and other teams on equal terms so...

[SmallSoldier]

Can Mercedes truly find an edge over its engine customers early in these regulations, even when the rules insist that it cannot give a customer an inferior engine? Hywel Thomas, the managing director of Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains, suggested how that can be so.

He told The Times: “As a works team, 45 minutes down the road [between HPP and the F1 factory], there are just more links. There’s more links between the engineering groups, there’s more links between the hierarchy of the organisations. You would naturally think that there’s a benefit and there’s more advantage.

“On most things, the chassis teams agree [with the power unit side], so it isn’t a big deal. But when there’s something where perhaps the works team will be going in one slight direction, and the customer says, ‘Oh, can’t we go in a different [design] direction?’ It will always be the works team that you follow.”

https://www.planetf1.com/news/hywel-tho ... ge-f1-2026

It is a certain advantage to codevelop the engine and chasis to be in harmony one to another, however i think that is a very small advantage.
Everyone i upping the Mercedes team to dominate (or to be on top) because they nailed the hybrid regs in 2014. However i personaly think that this time they wont. Cost cap, same engine modes... they are up against McLaren and other teams on equal terms so...

Being a works team can definitely have a few advantages… how big or small, impossible to assess… But been a works Team doesn’t necessarily guarantees success nor does it mean that you will always be behind… Examples of each extreme are the 2024-2025 McLaren (2X WCC as an engine customer) or the 2015 McLaren… Which appears will be a similar situation for the 2026 Aston Martin.

Being a customer Team can also have a few advantages in terms of Team overall efficiency… The customer team is not spending resources to guide or intervene in the PU design, therefore allocating all resources to the rest of the car

[Jaymz]

https://www.planetf1.com/news/hywel-tho ... ge-f1-2026

It is a certain advantage to codevelop the engine and chasis to be in harmony one to another, however i think that is a very small advantage.

Everyone i upping the Mercedes team to dominate (or to be on top) because they nailed the hybrid regs in 2014. However i personaly think that this time they wont. Cost cap, same engine modes... they are up against McLaren and other teams on equal terms so...

Been a works team can definitely have a few advantages… how big or small, impossible to assess… But been a works Team doesn’t necessarily guarantees success nor does it mean that you will always be behind… Examples of each extreme are the 2024-2025 McLaren (2X WCC as an engine customer) or the 2015 McLaren… Which appears will be a similar situation for the 2026 Aston Martin.

Been a customer Team can also have a few advantages in terms of Team overall efficiency… The customer team is not spending resources to guide or intervene in the PU design, therefore allocating all resources to the rest of the car

Mate it's being not been.

[Emag]

It is a certain advantage to codevelop the engine and chasis to be in harmony one to another, however i think that is a very small advantage.

Everyone i upping the Mercedes team to dominate (or to be on top) because they nailed the hybrid regs in 2014. However i personaly think that this time they wont. Cost cap, same engine modes... they are up against McLaren and other teams on equal terms so...

Been a works team can definitely have a few advantages… how big or small, impossible to assess… But been a works Team doesn’t necessarily guarantees success nor does it mean that you will always be behind… Examples of each extreme are the 2024-2025 McLaren (2X WCC as an engine customer) or the 2015 McLaren… Which appears will be a similar situation for the 2026 Aston Martin.

Been a customer Team can also have a few advantages in terms of Team overall efficiency… The customer team is not spending resources to guide or intervene in the PU design, therefore allocating all resources to the rest of the car

Mate it's being not been.

To bean or not to bean, that is the question

[SmallSoldier]

It is a certain advantage to codevelop the engine and chasis to be in harmony one to another, however i think that is a very small advantage.

Everyone i upping the Mercedes team to dominate (or to be on top) because they nailed the hybrid regs in 2014. However i personaly think that this time they wont. Cost cap, same engine modes... they are up against McLaren and other teams on equal terms so...

Been a works team can definitely have a few advantages… how big or small, impossible to assess… But been a works Team doesn’t necessarily guarantees success nor does it mean that you will always be behind… Examples of each extreme are the 2024-2025 McLaren (2X WCC as an engine customer) or the 2015 McLaren… Which appears will be a similar situation for the 2026 Aston Martin.

Been a customer Team can also have a few advantages in terms of Team overall efficiency… The customer team is not spending resources to guide or intervene in the PU design, therefore allocating all resources to the rest of the car

Mate it's being not been.

Mate, my apologies… not my first language… I will try to be better

[Darth-Piekus]

First GP of the year and nobody knows the pecking order yet. I personally enter this year satisfied from the last two years as I was proven right in two things. First that a customer team not only can beat the factory teams but could do a back to back. Check. And secondly the days where a driver could get a much slower car and get a title died with Senna. Today the car is doing 80-90% of the work and the best combination wins most of the time as it happened. So may the best combo wins the title and may we have a good and competitive year.