No McLaren was able to start the Formula 1 race in China, but the team is confident that Mercedes has solved the problems
Statistically speaking, Shanghai was the first time since the 2005 US Grand Prix in Indianapolis that no McLaren started a race – back then, the team joined the other Michelin-tired teams who withdrew after the formation lap.
Before that, you have to go back to 1966, when the team searched in vain for competitive engines in its first Formula 1 season, to see McLaren withdraw two cars before the start of the race for reliability reasons. And even then, the second car had already been withdrawn before the weekend.
In 1966, Bruce McLaren unsuccessfully resorted to the 3-liter V12 from the small Italian manufacturer Serenissima after his project to downsize Ford’s Indy 500-winning engine failed to deliver either performance or reliability.
The Serenissima engine also proved to be a disappointment in this respect – although the local priest in Sasso Marconi blessed each engine block individually before it was loaded into the McLaren truck.
Stella puts his trust in Mercedes
In 2026, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella is putting his trust in Mercedes-Benz High Performance Powertrains (HPP) rather than divine assistance.
“China was definitely a difficult and frustrating event for us,” says Stella ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix. “Two cars not being able to take part in a Grand Prix is a pretty extraordinary situation. We understand the cause of the problem.”
“In both cases, it was related to the electrical side of the drive unit. We had faults on the battery, but they were different faults that occurred at almost the same time over the weekend – in that sense it’s quite extraordinary. We have been working with HPP to investigate the problem.“
”We are 100 percent confident that HPP has taken appropriate remedial action.”
McLaren hopes for a normal weekend
Although the battery faults were of a different nature, the unit from Piastri’s car was salvageable, while Norris’ was permanently damaged. According to reports, it was a software problem that thwarted McLaren’s efforts in the garage – they even tried to replace the control electronics – and rendered Norris’ battery unusable.
In Piastri’s case, however, the problem was due to an auxiliary component attached to the battery.
“HPP has very high standards,” Stella continues. “If they can process information about a fault, they will certainly implement all the necessary findings, adjustments and measures to prevent a recurrence. So we are definitely looking forward to what I would say is a normal weekend – an opportunity we didn’t have in China and to some extent in Australia when Oscar was spinning on the laps to the grid.“
”We are looking forward as a team and most of all we are happy for Oscar, who has not been able to complete a single race lap this season. We want to break this trend and finally be there.”
And if all else fails, he can always call a priest …
