2026 McLaren Mastercard F1 Team

[FittingMechanics]

Also need to remember weve only just got the power unit. We didnt have it for testing.

Mclaren had a Mercedes PU in testing. It's not like they switched from Audi to Mercedes overnight.

The idea that a lot of this gap is just "Mclaren doesn't know anything about deployment" is a bit naive imo. Did Stella mention if the car is at the weight limit?

Stella must be naive then.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/mclaren-p ... ssell-pole

He doesn’t mention the cars weight but he does concede that McLaren have a performance deficit in some of the corners too.

Very honest comments by Stella. Some low hanging fruit by using the PU better but the rest is normal downforce advantage. They will have to bring strong updates.

[mwillems]

Mclaren had a Mercedes PU in testing. It's not like they switched from Audi to Mercedes overnight.

The idea that a lot of this gap is just "Mclaren doesn't know anything about deployment" is a bit naive imo. Did Stella mention if the car is at the weight limit?

Stella must be naive then.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/mclaren-p ... ssell-pole

He doesn’t mention the cars weight but he does concede that McLaren have a performance deficit in some of the corners too.

That makes more sense because I don't believe it's all just energy recovery.

“I think at the moment, Mercedes, they are doing a better job than us at exploiting the power unit, but they have also done a better job than us in terms of overall grip in the corners.

“I guess in particular, this will have to do with the level of downforce.

Who was suggesting it was all energy recovery?

[API]

Why did Russell change the combustion engine and battery before qualifying?

[Macklaren]

Stella must be naive then.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/mclaren-p ... ssell-pole

He doesn’t mention the cars weight but he does concede that McLaren have a performance deficit in some of the corners too.

That makes more sense because I don't believe it's all just energy recovery.

“I think at the moment, Mercedes, they are doing a better job than us at exploiting the power unit, but they have also done a better job than us in terms of overall grip in the corners.

“I guess in particular, this will have to do with the level of downforce.

Who was suggesting it was all energy recovery?

Isn't this all related? Like back in the old Honda days the McLaren drivers were saying the chassis was great to drive but that was because they had no power. If Merc can make the engine work better, they can also bolt on more downforce?

[.poz]

Paddock rumors say that customer teams do have the same PU version, but not the same software version.

That would be strictly against the rules, surely?

It's against the rules. This rumor is being spread by not very credible media.

I thought only the PU spec and the available maps were regulated, and that there was a loophole in the hybrid management software version that Mercedes cleverly exploited. If that’s not the case, then it’s simply a matter of know-how, since the decisions on how to set up energy harvesting and deployment rest with the team.

[AR3-GP]

McLaren are spending a much longer time in 8th gear than Mercedes.

[michl420]

We lost by far the most on the 2 backstraights. Mercedes do no lift and cost and having more and longer high speed on the straights. Mclaren do small lift and cost into 1 and 3 but still have less energy available. This fits perfect to this deployment problems.
But it can also be drag related.
8 gear could be a small problem but surly not a big one.

[AR3-GP]

@Emag I have seen your update on the hub....

[mwillems]

That makes more sense because I don't believe it's all just energy recovery.

Who was suggesting it was all energy recovery?

Isn't this all related? Like back in the old Honda days the McLaren drivers were saying the chassis was great to drive but that was because they had no power. If Merc can make the engine work better, they can also bolt on more downforce?

Point is that one one suggested it was all deployment, so i was confused as to where this statement was coming from.

Harvesting may be affecting cornering. It's a bloody complex formula, impossible to understand where the issues are, but im sure we have work to do on the aero.

But I dont actually think aero is too far behind Merc.

[FittingMechanics]

If what Lando said that he needs to look at his speed in order to know when to brake, that cannot be a great way to race these cars. How can you be accurate that way. Maybe Mercedes figured out something simpler?

Did anyone check the onboards, can you their SoC or when they are deploying?

[Emag]

@Emag I have seen your update on the hub....

If you’re referring to the battery %, keep in mind, its approximated on acceleration traces and estimated regeneration numbers based on the rules regarding maximum deployment/recharge.

To be honest I had the component ready for a while in a very crude state, but it was mostly a skeleton I would later fill in with data from the livetiming.

Then they said they wont make that available because the teams dont want to show it. So I was working on the background to improve the approximation engine and deployed it last night. Then I wake up and see they actually have the deploy/recharge plus battery level data in one of the halo graphics, so I spent most of qualifying looking at the livetiming data streams to see if there was any new channel. But whatever it is, its not in livetiming packets yet. The halo graphics use some other source, possibly private.

My model will get a bit better once I get some more data to improve the approximation, but I am hoping the real data will be available before that …

[bauc]

I expected for us to be 3rd or 4th team, that is fine, we had less time and CAD allowance do develop so all good for now. But this new cars, what a shame....all of the drivers do the lift and coast 100 meters before the braking zone, its ridiculous and it is counter intuitive, this new cars are insult to the F1 world and to motorsport in general, what a disaster.

With a working front wing, we had every chance of fighting for 2nd faster car. A tough fight though, but still, nothing to be disheartened about. Others brought updates are testing, so are a half step ahead.

We can have a good season still.

Yes we can, and I believe we will, its just the sport in general is in a bad place at the moment.

[CrazyCarperF1]

Under Parc ferme conditions can engine maps and electrical software management be changed?

[FittingMechanics]

Under Parc ferme conditions can engine maps and electrical software management be changed?

That was my question as well.

If they figure out better energy usage pattern after quali, can you make these changes? Is this changeable over the steering wheel during a session? Between laps?

Stella said that they needed qualifying to see what can be done by Mercedes.

[mwillems]

Under Parc ferme conditions can engine maps and electrical software management be changed?

That was my question as well.

If they figure out better energy usage pattern after quali, can you make these changes? Is this changeable over the steering wheel during a session? Between laps?

Stella said that they needed qualifying to see what can be done by Mercedes.

He may simply mean he needed to see them use the engine in anger to figure out their deployment and harvesting strategy.