While rivals outfits like Aston Martin have hailed the significance of a works partnership from the next rules cycles in 2026, McLaren thinks there are bigger influences on performance than the power unit.
That is why, for McLaren boss Andrea Stella, the bigger effort right now needs to be on addressing the elements that have much more of a say in the speed of its car.
“If we look at our limitations, they have nothing to do with the power unit,” said Stella. “I think they are much more fundamental, and that's where I would like to keep the focus.
“Even when I think about having to improve from an aerodynamic point of view, or having to improve from a tyre point of view, I think the role of the power unit, even in terms of layout, and construction and so on, is really small.
“I remain convinced that it could be one of the final incremental elements of differentiation. But I don't think that should be too much of a preoccupation.”
Source: Autosport