McLaren initially struggled in the 2026 F1 season with its power unit, but the April break has been timely.
McLaren is expected to make a “significant step” forward in unlocking performance from its Mercedes F1 power unit in Miami after facing early teething troubles with understanding the unit’s capabilities during the first three races of the season. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri encountered power unit electrical glitches, preventing them from starting the Chinese GP. The cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix has given F1 teams a full month to analyze data and make performance gains, something McLaren’s team principal Andrea Stella believes will benefit the reigning constructors’ champions in Miami despite the new regulations reducing energy recharge in qualifying. Stella expressed confidence in McLaren’s ability to optimize power unit performance through simulations and enhanced tools developed in collaboration with HPP, bridging any initial deficit as a customer team and ensuring they can extract maximum performance later in the season.
