Guenther Steiner has urged McLaren to stop blaming Mercedes for performance issues, insisting that if the Woking outfit wants complete control over its destiny, it should develop its own Formula 1 power unit. The former Haas team principal argued that McLaren has the financial strength and technical resources to become a full works manufacturer, thereby removing what he described as a long-standing excuse for poor results.
He made these comments during an appearance on The Red Flags Podcast, where he criticised McLaren’s recurring complaints about customer engine performance. His remarks come as the team prepares to receive the latest upgrade to its Mercedes power unit ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, having run an older specification for several races.
Steiner says McLaren should stop blaming its engine supplier
McLaren remains tied to Mercedes through a supply agreement that runs until at least the end of the 2030 season, with the partnership extending into Formula 1’s all-new 2026 power unit regulations.
Despite winning the Constructors’ Championship in both 2024 and 2025, McLaren has had a tougher start to the current season. After nine races, the team is yet to secure a victory in 2026, while Mercedes has set the standard, winning seven grands prix and leading both world championships.
Steiner argues that McLaren has developed a habit of blaming its engine supplier whenever the team falls short.
“They are a car manufacturer; they should make their own engine. That would remove the excuse, because whenever something goes wrong, they always say, ‘Oh, it’s the engine; we’re not getting the same engine as Mercedes.’ It’s always something. At some point, you have to grow up, and they have enough money.”
Steiner also referenced McLaren’s previous partnerships with Renault and Honda, suggesting that similar complaints were made during those periods.
McLaren admits a knowledge gap with Mercedes
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has previously acknowledged that the team has not extracted the maximum performance from the new Mercedes High Performance Powertrains (HPP) package.
Speaking earlier this season at Silverstone, Stella admitted that McLaren had experienced “a shortfall in utilising the HPP power unit’ and that the team had been ‘losing performance’ compared to Mercedes” works operation.
He also noted that Mercedes appears to have a better grasp of its own power unit, which gives them an advantage and has contributed to the performance gap between the factory team and its customer outfits.
Compounding the issue, McLaren was the only Mercedes-powered customer team to race with the previous engine specification through to the British Grand Prix. Alpine and Williams received the latest upgrade sooner due to engine mileage considerations, and Mercedes factory drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli switched earlier following retirements related to reliability issues.
McLaren is expected to introduce the updated specification at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit this weekend.
Brown has not ruled out a McLaren-built engine
While Steiner believes McLaren should commit to producing its own Formula 1 engine, chief executive Zak Brown has previously suggested that such a move would only make commercial sense under the right conditions.
In May, Brown said that McLaren would consider becoming a power unit manufacturer if Formula 1 adopted a more affordable engine formula. Discussions have been raised by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem around a potential return to naturally aspirated V8 engines from 2030 or 2031.
Under the current regulations, power unit manufacturers are subject to a separate budget cap of $130 million per season from 2026, making engine development one of the sport’s most expensive technical programmes.
McLaren’s focus remains on maximising the potential of its Mercedes package. Oscar Piastri has also stressed that the team’s struggles cannot be blamed solely on the engine. Instead, he has pointed to chassis limitations that have been exposed at circuits including Canada, Monaco and Silverstone, whenever conditions fall outside the MCL40’s preferred operating window.
It remains to be seen whether the latest Mercedes upgrade will close the gap at Spa, but Steiner’s comments have reignited the debate over whether one of Formula 1’s biggest manufacturers should finally become a true works team.
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