McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has faced speculation that the team could switch from Mercedes power units to Porsche F1 in 2026.
After ending the collaboration with Honda, McLaren has managed the Mercedes F1 power unit for the last two seasons, installed until the 2014 season, through Renault.
However, Porsche’s failure to agree a partnership with Red Bull earlier this year has fueled speculation about which team Porsche will partner with when the new F1 regulations take effect in 2026.
Alongside Williams, another team that Mercedes currently supplies F1 power units to, McLaren has been linked to both Zak Brown and team principal Andreas Seidl due to their links to Porsche.
When asked about the speculation, Brown said, “There are clear benefits to being in a work team in terms of having a high level of knowledge.”
When McLaren had previously split from Mercedes to join Honda, then-CEO Ron Dennis argued that a customer team could not win the world championship.
But Brown disagrees with the idea, saying, “We’re very happy with Mercedes.”
“I believe we can win the world championship with a customer engine. I think our car’s engine is no different than Lewis’s.”
“I think the engine is exactly the same. We have a long-term contract with Mercedes and we are very happy with the cooperation and we haven’t spent too much time thinking about 2026 and beyond.”
Category: F1 / mclaren / Porsche
