New F1 Headline: McLaren Reveals: Pivotal Power Unit Challenges Mercedes' Dominance
Alex Jacques believes McLaren is still learning how to optimise its Mercedes power unit, leaving it unable to match Mercedes’ early 2026 Formula 1 pace
Motorsport photo F1 TV commentator Alex Jacques believes that McLaren does not fully understand its Mercedes power unit yet. Mercedes has started the 2026 Formula 1 season off to a strong start with a dominant 1-2 finish in Australia and now the same in China. The expectations were high for the Brackley outfit heading into the season with the championship's new regulations, and with that, hope was also high for the team's customers.
But McLaren, Alpine and Williams are yet to find the same success. "Well, they've got a problem with both aspects of the car," the commentator explained on F1 TV . "The chassis is not as quick as say Ferrari through the corners, and they don't fully understand their power unit.
"They only got the specification of the power unit that Mercedes has; they didn't have it in testing and only got it in Australia. Understanding that and how to deploy it, and the efficiency of how to deploy it, is a huge part of the game. "That is basically the game this year, and they're only at the beginning of that journey at the moment with both of those things.
They've got a long way to go. " Former F1 driver and F1 TV pundit Jolyon Palmer added: "It's interesting. I was speaking to Alpine who've got the Mercedes power unit in testing.