Formula 1: McLaren in talks with surprise team for new engine?

McLaren's initial partnership with Mercedes began nearly three decades ago, but the Woking-based team could be looking to move on from the German manufacturer in preparation for the next era of Formula 1 in 2026.

The timing of this seems quite odd, considering the fact that McLaren just extended their partnership with Mercedes for their powertrains until 2030 this past November.

Recent reports suggest that McLaren CEO Zak Brown was touring Red Bull’s Formula 1 facilities in Milton Keynes not too long ago and had preliminary discussions about a potential engine partnership. It would be quite an interesting sort of partnership, given the rivalry that is beginning to form between the two teams that have been battling for race wins all season long.

While Red Bull are set to receive assistance from Ford for aspects of their 2026 engine, the plan is for part of the engine to be built in-house. They appear to be taking on their ambitions of becoming a works team in Formula 1, to an extent.

Red Bull partnership a risk for McLaren

Mercedes have arguably been the best works team, based solely on the engine and powertrain they have produced for several years now. Currently, 40% of the grid use their engines, with their three customer teams being McLaren, Aston Martin, Williams. What makes them appealing is their high quality, high performance, and reliability.

McLaren only seem to be interested in a switch if the insight on Mercedes’ 2026 engines does not have as much upside as expected. Though the latest intel on their new hybrid engines is encouraging, Brown evidently must see it himself to believe it.

His thought process is somewhat questionable, considering the fact that Williams are happy being a customer team of Mercedes. Alex Albon recently re-signed with Williams largely due to the 2026 Mercedes engines, and Alpine are reportedly considering becoming their customer team as well, something with which Brown is comfortable.

While McLaren have made massive strides since the start of last season, winning a world championship is what is on their mind either. But going with a team that have no experience in manufacturing parts for their own engine does not make much sense, as odds are that Red Bull themselves will not know how effective it will be until 2026.

The logical thing for McLaren to do would be to let their current deal with Mercedes run out in 2030 and perhaps transition to Red Bull and Ford for 2031 and beyond, if the performance and data make it seem like a switch would be in the best interests of the team.

While 2030 is still several years away, it would certainly not hurt to consider all potential options ahead of time, especially for a team as competitive as McLaren. What Brown and company decide to do will be interesting, considering how well being a Mercedes customer team has worked for them over the years.