McLaren has established a new in-house power unit performance team to enhance its understanding and exploitation of the Mercedes power unit. This initiative follows challenges encountered during the initial phase of the 2026 Formula 1 season, marked by significant regulation changes.
Mark Temple, McLaren’s Technical Director for Performance, confirmed the creation of these new roles. He stated the team is focused on maximising output from the power unit, a task that requires new skills and working methods not previously essential.
Temple, appointed to his current role in May 2024, brings over two decades of experience at McLaren, including stints as a race engineer for Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. His department now oversees Vehicle Performance, Tyres & Brakes, and Driver & Competitor Performance teams.
The 2026 regulations introduced a substantial shift in power unit architecture, moving to a 50% internal combustion engine and 50% electrical power split. This represents a significant increase in electrical reliance compared to the previous 80/20 ratio.
Team Principal Andrea Stella acknowledged early in the season that McLaren, as a customer team, felt ‘on the back foot’ with the new regulations. He clarified this was not due to lower priority from Mercedes High Performance Powertrains (HPP), but rather fewer opportunities for integration and alignment on development timelines.
McLaren, the reigning Constructors’ Champions from 2024 and with Lando Norris as the 2025 Drivers’ Champion, has experienced a more challenging 2026 season. Reliability issues, including battery problems, led to both Norris and Oscar Piastri failing to start the Chinese Grand Prix in March.
Mercedes, as a works team, demonstrated an early advantage in extracting performance from the new power units. George Russell secured pole position in Melbourne with a notable lead, and Mercedes drivers have employed unique energy deployment tactics.
Stella noted that in Australia, approximately half of McLaren’s performance deficit was attributed to power unit exploitation, with the other half stemming from cornering performance. He described the new power units as ‘very complex’ with ‘unique sensitivities’.
McLaren received the latest specification of the Mercedes power unit at the Belgian Grand Prix, two races after the works Mercedes team. Other Mercedes customers, Alpine and Williams, received the update one week earlier at Silverstone.
The new McLaren power unit performance team will study track data, collaborate with race engineering, and utilise simulators and offline tools. This internal group works closely with HPP, cross-referencing HPP’s simulations and configuration options against McLaren’s specific requirements.
‘There are new roles,’ Temple said via McLaren’s official website. ‘We have a power unit performance team now, which we didn’t have before. They’re focused on understanding how we get the most out of the power unit.’
Despite the strong working relationship with HPP, McLaren’s position as a customer means Mercedes Grand Prix ultimately retains the final say on engine design and timeline. This necessitates McLaren’s new team to react efficiently to the working possibilities provided for each race weekend.
