Formula 1: McLaren looking to switch to Mercedes engines in 2021?

McLaren may be looking to switch back to Mercedes engines for the 2021 Formula 1 season after having not been aligned with the German manufacturer since 2014.

McLaren, one of the most historic teams on the Formula 1 grid, aligned with Mercedes as their engine manufacturer ahead of the 1995 season, and this relationship lasted for two whole decades.

Throughout these two decades, the Woking-based team achieved a ton of success in the form of 78 Grand Prix victories, three driver championships and one constructor championship.

Mika Hakkinen won the 1998 and 1999 driver championships for the team before Lewis Hamilton won the title in 2008. McLaren won the constructor championship in 1998 with Hakkinen and David Coulthard as their two drivers.

After two consecutive winless seasons in 2013 and 2014 for the first time since the first two years of their partnership with Mercedes, McLaren switched engine manufactures to Honda ahead of the 2015 season.

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McLaren previously used Honda engines from the 1988 season through the 1992 season, and they had even more success with the Japanese manufacturer than they did with Mercedes.

During these five seasons, they earned 44 Grand Prix victories and won four driver championships and four constructor championships. Ayrton Senna won the 1988, 1990 and 1991 driver championships for the team while Alain Prost won the title in 1989. McLaren won the constructor championships from the 1988 season through the 1991 season before switching to Ford after the 1992 season.

But their second stint with Honda turned sour quickly, and it lasted only three seasons. In these three seasons, the team did not have a driver finish higher than 10th place in the driver standings, they finished in no higher than sixth in the constructor standings, and they had no individual race results of better than fifth.

As a result, they switched to Renault engines ahead of the 2018 season. While they have taken a step forward from their second stint with Honda, this relationship hasn’t result in the reliability and power that they need to break out of the mid-pack and contend for podium finishes and victories.

Here is what team principal Andreas Seidl had to say about the matter, according to Motorsport.

"“Renault is making a huge effort in order to bring power updates throughout the season so that’s encouraging to see. But of course, [it is] disappointing to have all these penalties and the DNFs in the races. It is important that we have a transparent and open relationship there, and that we analyse the issues and try to solve them together.”"

As a result, there are rumors that McLaren are looking to realign with Mercedes beginning in the 2021 season after what would be six years away from the German manufacturer.

That said, according to Article 8.3 of Formula 1’s Sporting Regulations, “A major car manufacturer may not directly or indirectly supply engines for more than three teams of two cars each without the consent of the FIA.”

Mercedes currently supply engines to SportPesa Racing Point and ROKiT Williams Racing, and they have long-term deals to continue doing so for each of them. Being the Mercedes factory team, they are also a Mercedes-powered team.

So if this rule does not change when the new regulations are introduced ahead of the 2021 season, Mercedes will likely need the FIA’s approval to allow this to happen, unless they are able to supply their own team beginning in 2021.

That said, if this is not approved, they could make a case that Appendix 9 of the Sporting Regulations means that they are allowed to have a third customer team without requiring FIA approval.

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Will McLaren go back to using Mercedes for what would be the first time in seven years in the 2021 Formula 1 season, or will they extend their deal with Renault for beyond the 2020 season?

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