How McLaren And Mercedes Exploit The Same Power Unit In Completely Different Ways

McLaren and Mercedes share the same power unit in 2026, yet the two teams have taken strikingly different approaches to their gearbox design and gear ratios.
With the 2026 regulation overhaul, the gearbox has once again become a central aspect of car design, reversing a trend that had seen it increasingly viewed as no longer a decisive performance factor in Formula 1.
McLaren designs and manufactures its own gearbox internally, including not just the casing but all of the internal components as well.
The Woking team has also made different choices regarding gear ratios, with the MCL40 running shorter gearing compared to the Mercedes W17.
“I think there are definitely pros and cons with the ratios,” said McLaren team principal Andrea Stella during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend. “We are on the shorter side compared to Mercedes.”
Stella acknowledged that shorter gearing can offer advantages in acceleration and race starts, areas where McLaren has frequently shown stronger launches than Mercedes despite sharing the same power unit.
Shorter gear ratios multiply torque at the driven wheels, improving acceleration off the line, particularly before the MGU-K contributes and when the car relies solely on the internal combustion engine.
Teams such as Mercedes and Red Bull opted instead for relatively long lower gears, which helps keep engine revs higher through slow corners and maximises battery recharging under the current technical regulations.
Data from the first five races of the season reveals a recurring trend that Stella himself acknowledged: the shorter the straight, the more competitive the McLaren tends to be.
Miami and Montreal represented opposite extremes in terms of energy recovery, with Miami allowing up to 8 MJ and Canada reduced to just 6 MJ per lap, requiring much more selective energy management.
In Miami, McLaren was able to stay with its rivals on the first straight, but the longer the straight continued, the more the MCL40 began to struggle against its competitors.
On the long straight leading to the final chicane in Canada, Mercedes regained its advantage over McLaren despite the MCL40 matching the W17 on the shorter straights of Sector 2.
McLaren tends to use one gear higher in several areas of the lap, selecting eighth gear where others remain in seventh, which on longer straights can create a top-speed deficit of more than 10 km/h compared with Mercedes.
During Friday sprint qualifying in Canada, the gap on the long straight was particularly large, which prompted McLaren to modify its energy management strategy for Saturday to reduce the deficit.
“For instance, when we have speeds in a long straight like from corner 10 to 13, then you may want to have slightly longer, for instance, eighth gear,” Stella explained. “So, it’s a bit of a mixed bag as to where you want to beat with the ratios.”
The W17 has so far demonstrated a strength in striking a compromise that allows it to remain competitive across circuits with very different characteristics throughout the season.
Gear ratios must normally be homologated at the start of the season, though this year’s regulations include a one-time exception allowing teams to change them once during the campaign.
Stella does not believe such a change is necessary, arguing that the advantages of McLaren’s current setup fit well with the overall design philosophy of the MCL40.
“At the moment, we are happy with where we are,” Stella concluded. “We are not considering to review our availability, even though the regulations would allow you to do so. But we think that some of the advantages that we cash in in other conditions than the longest straights are overall a positive position in which we are.”
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