McLaren to debut latest Mercedes engine at Belgian GP

The McLaren Formula 1 team will introduce a significant package of upgrades for the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend, including the latest specification Mercedes power unit and a new rear wing, as it seeks to improve its fortunes in the 2026 season. The reigning world champions have endured a difficult start to the campaign, marked by reliability problems and a lack of consistent performance compared to rivals Mercedes and Ferrari.

The team's decision to finally adopt Mercedes' newest power unit at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit comes after a cautious delay. McLaren opted not to take the upgraded engine at the Austrian or British Grands Prix, unlike other Mercedes customer teams, in order to maximize the life of its existing units. This strategy followed a series of early-season component failures, most notably battery issues that caused both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to fail to start the Chinese Grand Prix in March, leaving the team behind in engine mileage. The fresh power units are expected to provide an advantage at the high-speed Belgian circuit, where straight-line speed and energy deployment in sectors one and three are critical.

Alongside the engine change, McLaren...