Should McLaren turn its back on Mercedes engines? Günther Steiner: Grow up!

McLaren relies on Mercedes engines: the historic racing team has won 99 times with engines bearing the famous three-pointed star; in 1998, 2024 and 2025, McLaren won the Constructors’ World Championship with Mercedes.

In 2026, however, things went wrong: no McLaren was to be seen in the race in China because the battery in the Mercedes power unit failed. In Monaco, Lando Norris retired, again due to a malfunctioning battery.

In the first part of the season, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella felt they were lagging behind the works team. The Italian explained in March: “Even during testing, we went out onto the track, looked at the data and thought: ‘Oh, so that’s what we’ve got. Right, how do we respond to this now?’ But that’s not really how you work in Formula 1.”

“In Formula 1, you simulate in advance what will happen on the track. So you know what you’re programming and how the car will behave; you know what to expect. And because you know what to expect from the race car, you tailor your development accordingly.”

“I have to say – as a customer team, this is the first time we’ve really felt on the back foot; even when it comes to predicting the car’s handling or assessing how we can improve it.”

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After nine Grand Prix weekends in 2026, McLaren finds itself without a pole position or a win, and with just four podium finishes. Mercedes has secured all nine pole positions in 2026, along with seven wins and twelve podium finishes.

McLaren has managed to resolve some of the issues, but not others; speaking most recently at Silverstone, Stella added: “The utilisation of the power unit is absolutely crucial, and it seems we still have a slight shortfall when it comes to getting the most out of the HPP power unit.” (HPP stands for High Performance Powertrains, Mercedes’ racing engine division, M.B.)

Stella continued: “If you look at the GPS overlay, it’s clear that we need to keep our dialogue with HPP open in some way, as we seem to be leaving a bit of power on the table.”

These comments are getting on the nerves of former Haas team principal Günther Steiner. The South Tyrolean says on the Red Flags podcast: “McLaren is a car manufacturer, after all; they should build their own engine! That would put a stop to the excuses, because whenever something goes wrong, it’s always: ‘Oh, we don’t have the same engine as Mercedes.’”

“They had problems with Renault back then. They had problems with Honda. There’s always something. At some point you’ve got to grow up, and after all, they’ve got enough money.”

“McLaren CEO Zak Brown is pretty good at selling the team and securing sponsorship. I say: get the money, and instead of putting it in the bank, build your own engine. That would send out a strong message!”

“They should just go for it. Red Bull went for it, and they’re doing pretty well. Audi went for it too. They’re a car manufacturer; they want to stand on their own two feet and be taken seriously. McLaren could do that too.”