McLaren given new Mercedes engine weeks after F1 rivals

McLaren F1 team will finally get to try out the new Mercedes engine at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, weeks after it was debuted by their power unit providers.

Ahead of the 10th round of the championship currently led by the Silver Arrows, McLaren have confirmed their driver duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will be driving cars fitted with Mercedes' latest engine at Spa, which was already introduced by the works team in Austria.

Despite being the reigning title holders in both the constructors' and the drivers' championship, McLaren have fallen way behind the top two so far in 2026, struggling with a package which is nowhere near as competitive as the ones brought by Mercedes or Ferrari under the new regulations.

This may have come as a surprise to many given the papaya F1 squad are a customer team of Mercedes, who also provide engines to Alpine and Williams.

But just because McLaren work closely with Mercedes, it doesn't mean they always get to enjoy the fruits of their labour instantly.

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Why have McLaren had to wait for new Mercedes F1 engine?

The Woking-based F1 squad run by Andrea Stella are yet to benefit from the early lead gained by their power unit providers, Mercedes.

As Toto Wolff's squad have won all but two grands prix so far in the 2026 campaign, McLaren have failed to claim a single main race victory, sitting way behind second-placed Ferrari in the constructors' standings.

And whilst Mercedes have been working with the latest version of their 2026 power unit since the Austrian GP weekend which began on June 26, McLaren have had to wait three weeks before getting the chance to try it in their own machinery.

Mercedes stars Kimi Antonelli and George Russell received a new specification of their F1 power unit at the Red Bull Ring, which featured a number of changes aimed at improving reliability.

Even their other customer teams Alpine and Williams were able to run the new version at Silverstone just a week later, but McLaren have been unable to use the new engine until now as a result of still having mileage left on their existing PUs, having already cycled through many components as a result of their own reliability issues.

For the Belgian GP, both McLarens will have the latest power unit installed for the first time along with a brand-new rear wing that the team plan to test out during Friday's practice sessions.

McLaren previously planned to introduce their own version of Ferrari's popular 'Macarena' wing in Austria, but scrapped plans to monitor and evaluate its use during practice at the last minute.

Instead, Stella's squad have announced that a 'significant upgrade package' can be expected for the Hungarian GP the week after Belgium.

What do McLaren expect from Belgian GP?

Ahead of the pivotal race weekend at Spa, McLaren's technical director of applied engineering, Neil Houldey, talked through the team's expectations and other expected changes on the MCL40, saying: "Our preparation has been thorough, using extensive simulation work to get ahead of what we know will be a very demanding weekend for energy management.

"We're arriving at Spa with a new rear wing assembly, an upgrade we've had in the pipeline as part of the car's development pathway.

"We're confident that this update will add a bit of performance to our car, but we are fully aware that after a difficult British Grand Prix, mainly in terms of pure performance, even this round won't be that easy, so we won't be expecting any big change in terms of competitiveness.

"The Belgian Grand Prix is going to be incredibly challenging from an energy management perspective; it's one of the most energy-starved tracks on the calendar. We anticipate seeing a significant amount of super clip, which will test both the car and the drivers.

"Furthermore, the forecast looks unpredictable. While wet weather presents its own difficulties, we see it as a valuable opportunity to finally potentially run this car in the wet and understand its behaviour in low-grip conditions, which could provide crucial data for the rest of the season."

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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