Stella wary of McLaren entering 2026 with “immature” power unit

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In the round-up: McLaren team principal Andreas Stella says is cautious about the risk of entering Formula 1’s new power unit era with an all-new manufacturer

In brief

Stella wary of Mclaren entering 2026 with “immature” power unit

With the new power unit regulations coming into Formula 1 in 2026 and new manufacturers like Audi joining the sport, Stella says he is careful about McLaren rushing to attach themselves to an all-new power unit manufacturer.

“Ideally you are a works team, but with an established power unit manufacturer,” he told media including RaceFans. “I think joining a new partnership, it comes with some elements of risk.

“In 2026 we want to be there. We don’t want to be saying like ‘okay, now we need two years because the project is too immature’. We want to be there from a chassis point of view, and kind of sound from a power unit point of view, even if I had to choice to choose, I would always choose to be a works team. But I don’t think this is a fundamental differentiator to be able to win.”

Krack “would be happy” to keep Alonso for several years

Mike Krack says that Aston Martin “would be happy” to keep Fernando Alonso driving in their team for several years.

Alonso joined the team this season and currently sits third in the drivers’ championship after five podiums from seven rounds. The 41-year-old is already the most experienced driver in F1 history, but has said he wants to stay at the team for “several years” to come.

“It’s nice to hear that he has said that,” Krack said. “Several years – we would be happy with that.

“I think the main thing – and this is one of the big qualities – is the desire to be at front, the motivation. And I think this is fully on with Fernando. We don’t think so much about that, to be honest. We take it race by race and we try to do well every race. It’s nice to hear that but we didn’t think too much about it yet. Let’s make it happen.”

Boya dominates Eurocup-3 Monza opener

MP Motorsport’s Maria Boya – who also races for the team in the FIA Formula 3 championship – led from start to finish to win first the Eurocup-3 race of the weekend in Monza.

Boya converted pole into the win, taking his second consecutive win in the series after missing the round at Motorland Aragon due to racing at Monte Carlo in the FIA Formula 3 championship. Esteban Masson with a second race taking place today.

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Comment of the day

Many of you, like Lyndamarks, were not impressed when two of the first four hours of the Le Mans 24 Hours were spent under Safety Car in part due to new restart grouping rules…

We are losing so much racing time due to these new safety car rules.

That initial one the track was clear after 15-20 minutes yet it took them an additional 20+ minutes to do the merging and wave around.

Way it was before had its flaws but at least it allowed us to go back to green as soon as the track was clear rather than losing so much green racing unnecessarily.
Lyndamarks

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Bazza and John Harvey!

On this day in motorsport

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Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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7 comments on “Stella wary of McLaren entering 2026 with “immature” power unit”

  1. I did think Binotto to Audi would be a smart move for all involved so I’m fascinated to see that they met and Binotto’s response. The guys clearly a valuable asset and Ferrari seems like a miserable employer – Vasseur appears to be a downgrade from my perspective. I thought Binotto as team principle was the best thing to happen to Ferrari in a decade.

    I think any team that lands Binotto will benefit. Red Bull maybe? They at least create an environment where talent can thrive and there’s a nascent engine program… if there’s room?

    1. notagrumpyfan
      11th June 2023, 7:30

      I thought Binotto as team principle was the best thing to happen to Ferrari in a decade.

      Binotto’s role as team principal was a clear example of the Peter Principle.

    2. Ferrari under Binotto’s leadership was a non-factor; that’s hardly a good thing. Even with their probable cheating in 2019, they did little more than win the odd race. Their performance in 2020 was one of the worst in recent decades. They won nothing in 2021, and while they came into 2022 with a decent car, Binotto completely lost the politicking to Mercedes and then couldn’t make the necessary technical improvements while Red Bull just kept getting faster and faster.

  2. COTD couldn’t be more spot-on.

  3. In 2026 we want to be there. We don’t want to be saying like ‘okay, now we need two years because the project is too immature’.

    I have to assume Audi already has prototype engines running in test rigs, nevertheless they probably don’t generate enough power, and the space the engine has to fit into needs to be reduced.

  4. Sounds like the engine every other manufacturer has tried to race after coming to F1 from sportscars! Alfa, Porsche, Peugeot, BMW (who got it right in the end), maybe Toyota – I guess the new equalised engine regs may help Audi avoid the mistakes of history.

  5. In a scenario where Aston is the team to beat and Alonso would win a championship. Where would Stroll sit in all this. Depending on how tight the grid would be he could be 2nd or 10th or anywhere in the standings. If Alonso would be replaced with some medicore driver then Stroll would be the team leader but without a chance to win the title even though he would win some races. In any scenario Stroll would be the loser. If he cannot get more speed and or be more consitent then he is always the guy who should do better. Does daddy stroll really want that.

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