Just spend more? Mercedes' intriguing theory for McLaren's PU deficit - The Race
the-race.com
Mercedes thinks McLaren's 2026 power unit gap isn't a hardware problem — it's a spending problem, and that distinction could reshape the whole customer team debate.
Principal-Agent ProblemResource Allocation TheoryCompetitive AdvantageInformation Asymmetry
Theory Briefing
- Mercedes believes McLaren's inability to exploit their shared 2026 power unit comes down to investment levels, not the hardware itself.
- The theory splits the F1 paddock: is a customer team's performance gap fixable with money, or is works-team status an insurmountable structural edge?
- McLaren's situation puts a live test case on whether buying the same engine can ever truly replicate the works advantage.
- The explanation reframes the customer-vs-works debate from a technical question into an economic one.