Deal with Ford falls through: What alternative does Brown have for McLaren?
General
- Ludo van Denderen
For a long time, McLaren seemed to have a partnership in place with Ford. However, the American manufacturer made the decision to enter a hypercar team of the World Endurance Championship, which leaves McLaren having to find another engine supplier for their WEC project. Or is another option the most logical solution?
In a year's time, Ford will finally return to Formula 1, in collaboration with Red Bull Racing. These months, the finishing touches are being made on the joint power unit, which will power the Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls' cars from 2026 onwards. The Americans put in a lot of effort, the manufacturer reiterated last week.
Meanwhile, Ford are already looking towards 2027, when their WEC team enter that competition, with their chassis and power unit. In the end, Ford chose to start a factory team, that also partly came as a surprise. In fact, Ford and McLaren had been in talks for quite some time about a partnership.
Why there was no agreement reached?
McLaren in particular were keen on a collaboration, as two parties with one team makes a considerable difference in terms of costs. Yet a deal did not materialise. McLaren reportedly wanted to use a twin-turbo V6, while Ford preferred a V8.
Although a deal with Ford did not happen, that does not mean McLaren are will not join WEC. A new golden age is happening in this championship, with more and more manufacturers joining. In fact, McLaren cannot afford not to be active in the hypercar class of WEC, as their consumer competitors are active in the series.
The obvious answer could be that McLaren will use their own power unit in WEC. As a sports car manufacturer, they shouldn't have any issues to develop, but yes: it does cost money - more than the originally hoped for. Indeed, it is hard to imagine McLaren knocking on Porsche's or Lamborghini's door to get a power unit from them.
Undoubtably, more will be clear about McLaren's plans soon, as 2027 is fast approaching. By that year, CEO Zak Brown would like to have a hypercar in WEC.
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sárközi
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