McLaren explain why it's not possible for them to produce their own engines
F1 News
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has explained why it's not feasible for McLaren to produce their own engines, as the Woking-based team just struck a new deal to partner up with Mercedes for their power units.
The combination of Mercedes and McLaren has already produced three championships in the past, with the latest one coming in 2008, when Lewis Hamilton secured the first of his five drivers' championships.
Since splitting from Mercedes earlier this decade, McLaren have sought power units at Honda and at Renault, before getting back together with the German works team for the 2021 season.
Speaking on why McLaren always look to out-source for their engines rather than producing them themselves, Brown explained why it's not possible for McLaren with the size of the company.
“You need to be a significantly bigger OEM [Original Equipment Manufacturer] that can warrant the spend to justify the exposure it creates for a greater number of car sales," the American explained to Motorsport.com.
“It clearly does make sense for a Mercedes, Renault, Honda, but doesn’t make sense for a McLaren with the volume of cars that we sell.”
McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl chipped in, saying it would also take a long time to develop an engine that would be up to par with competitors.
“To put up a Formula 1 power unit nowadays you have to invest a lot of money," he started to explain.
“You need a lot of running budget each year, and you would need a long time to catch up with what the others have put in place."