McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has stated that the team's status as a Mercedes customer has become a disadvantage for the first time this Formula 1 season. The comments follow reliability issues during recent races.
Stella made the remarks in Monaco after McLaren encountered problems in Montreal and Monaco. In Canada, Lando Norris retired due to a gearbox issue. In Monaco, the team suffered a power unit-related DNF. Stella stressed that Mercedes HPP is not to blame. He pointed to fewer opportunities for integration and collaboration as a customer team compared to works teams. 'Never before we felt that being a customer team has put us on the back foot,' Stella said. He noted that the issues have come into focus amid the 2026 technical regulation changes. McLaren CEO Zak Brown has indicated openness to developing an in-house power unit in the long term if done cost-efficiently. Stella confirmed that reviews of collaboration processes with Mercedes are already underway.
