Haas chief urges McLaren to develop its own F1 engine

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has called on McLaren to "grow up" and build its own Formula 1 power unit, arguing the team should stop blaming its Mercedes engine for performance struggles. His comments, made on "The Red Flags Podcast," come as the reigning Constructors' Champion endures a winless start to the 2026 season.

McLaren, which won the championship in 2024 and 2025, has failed to secure a victory in the opening nine races of the new regulatory era. In stark contrast, the Mercedes works team, which uses the same High Performance Powertrains (HPP) engine, has won seven of those races and leads both world championships. Team principal Andrea Stella has repeatedly acknowledged a performance gap, stating McLaren has not fully extracted the potential from the new Mercedes power unit.

Speaking at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Stella said data from GPS overlays indicates the team is leaving performance on the table and needs to keep its conversation with HPP open. He framed the issue as a knowledge deficit, noting the works team is further along in understanding and exploiting the complex new engine. Stella has been careful not to blame the supplier...