Toto Wolff on Mercedes Power Unit Confusion Among Customers
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Mercedes had a dominant start to 2026, especially in one-lap performance.
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Customer teams—McLaren, Williams, and Alpine—struggled to unlock the same performance, leading to frustration.
Customer Team Reactions
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McLaren (Andrea Stella): Felt on the “back foot” as a customer; wanted more detailed information from Mercedes High Performance Powertrains (HPP).
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Williams (James Vowles): Surprised by the works team’s pace; confident they have the same PU hardware but unsure how to extract full performance.
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Alpine (Steve Nielsen): First year as a Mercedes customer; admitted a learning curve with energy management, while appreciating the support provided.
Wolff’s Response
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Impossible to make every customer happy due to steep learning curve with new regulations.
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Mercedes aims to provide a good service, sharing updates and guidance as quickly as possible.
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Highlights the challenge of rolling out new technology across multiple teams:
“Whether you have a customer that’s on your gearbox or suspension, and in the same way on the power units, the development slope is very steep, and you can never deploy things to make everybody happy.”
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Defended Mercedes’ treatment of its customer teams, noting four Mercedes-powered cars finished in the top six in qualifying in Melbourne.
Takeaway
- Wolff stressed the importance of learning and development for customer teams, emphasizing patience and collaboration as everyone adapts to the 2026 regulations.