McLaren has dominated the 2025 season so far, with the Papaya team winning nine of the opening twelve races. The Woking-based outfit leads second-placed Ferrari by 238 points, while both their driver are fighting for the championship. Both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have failed to stand on the podium on two occasions each.
McLaren is being powered to their dominance by a Mercedes engine. The Silver Arrows looked competitive early on, with George Russell being their closest challenger in China and Bahrain. However, McLaren is now far ahead of the pack. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is now considering that selling their engine to McLaren wasn’t his best move.
Toto Wolff says in hindsight, Mercedes shouldn’t have sold their engine to McLaren
Mercedes was the dominant force in F1 between 2014 and 2021, winning every constructors’ championship. At that time, McLaren was scrapping for the lower points and not a threat to the Silver Arrows. Mercedes sold their engine to McLaren in 2021, in a contract that will last until 2030.
In 2023, McLaren was over one hundred points behind Mercedes. Now, McLaren is the leading Mercedes engine car, and the class of the field so far this season. Toto Wolff says the decision to sell to McLaren was easy at the time, but now questions the decision.
We’ve agreed a new long-term power unit agreement with Mercedes-Benz. 🤝
Tap the link for more info. 👇
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) November 24, 2023
Speaking to Sky Italia, he said: “Look at where they were three, four years ago, when we signed the deal with them that they were going to use our fast engines for the next few years. Then they were 18th and it was easy to make such a decision.”
“With the knowledge of today, I don’t know if it was the most intelligent choice in my life to make that deal with them. They have it really well together in terms of engineering and that’s why they perform so insanely well, especially in hot conditions.”
Mercedes has a good engine but has struggled to adapt to the ground-effect era. In contrast, McLaren has used this set of regulations to create a car which can win titles. Mercedes never got on top of the concept and has fallen behind their customer team. But can McLaren continue this form into 2026?
The advantage McLaren has over Mercedes going into 2026
Mercedes is predicted to have the best power unit going into the regulation cycle next season. Their customer teams, McLaren, Williams and Alpine, might have an advantage over the field as the new regulations are more power-dependent than aerodynamic. After 2014’s new engine regulations, Mercedes had the best power unit and dominated for many seasons. Their customer teams also performed well in the early stages of the new rules.
The advantage McLaren has over the field is that with such a dominant car this year, they can turn their attention to the 2026 car much earlier than their rivals. George Russell claimed in pre-season testing that the McLaren was so far ahead, they could already focus on next year’s car.
McLaren in Prime Position for 2025 F1 Title and Beyond, Says George Russell
While all teams have had an eye on next year, McLaren, with its huge advantage, might have turned their attention to their 2026 challenger. Ferrari and Red Bull are still bringing upgrades as they battle out for the best of the rest. The finishing position is key for the other teams to get the maximum prize money. So will McLaren continue to dominate next year? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
