McLaren ‘On the Back Foot’ in Understanding Mercedes F1 Power Unit After Australia

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Lando Norris: McLaren & Mercedes Power Unit Challenges

1. Early Season Struggles

  • McLaren finished over 50 seconds behind Mercedes in Australia; George Russell and Kimi Antonelli dominated the opening round.

  • Team Principal Andrea Stella admitted McLaren is “on the back foot” as a customer team.

  • McLaren only received the latest Mercedes PU at the start of the Australian weekend, meaning they had less preparation than the works team.

2. Understanding the Power Unit

  • Mercedes provides identical hardware and software to all customers, but does not coach teams on optimal usage.

  • Norris emphasized that McLaren must figure out:

    • Energy deployment: when to lift-and-coast, super-clip, and use battery boosts.

    • Track-specific strategies: where to deploy energy for max performance.

  • He stated,

    “Certain things don’t need to be told… there are certain things we have to figure out for ourselves.”

3. Collaboration With Mercedes HPP

  • McLaren intends to intensify collaboration with High-Performance Powertrains engineers to extract the PU’s full potential.

  • Norris stressed it’s not about Mercedes holding back; the gap is down to preparation and experience, not hardware limitations.

4. Optimism for Shanghai

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  • Norris expects learning from Melbourne to translate into a stronger performance in China.

  • Shanghai is less demanding on energy recovery, so McLaren anticipates being closer to Mercedes’ pace.

  • He concluded,

    “They’re doing better than everyone, including us, and there’s a lot that is down to us doing a better job at the same time, so we expect to do that this weekend.”