Why Mercedes thinks they will have an advantage over Red Bull and Ferrari in ‘26

14:59, 13 Aug

Updated: 15:31, 13 Aug

byLudo van Denderen

From 2026, Mercedes will also supply engines to four teams (including itself). This is both a challenge and an advantage for the German manufacturer. Here is why.

In addition to Mercedes, McLaren, Williams and, from next season, Alpine will also be using the German’s power units. A lot of work, acknowledges Bradley Lord, the team representative for the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

“It brings with it the challenge of needing to have more parts ready, more power units ready, more products ready sooner in order to enable those four teams to go testing and go racing and things like that," the Brit explains during a conversation with a small group of media, including GPblog.

The great advantage for Mercedes

On the other hand, having multiple customer teams - the highest number in Formula 1 - also has its advantages.

“One of the upsides is certainly that you get more extensive prove-out mileage and you're learning at a faster rate thanks to the mileage that all eight power units will be doing at the first race weekend. That will certainly be positive," Lord believes.

Mercedes sees pros and cons with three customer teams

“Equally, if you find challenges you have eight sets of solutions that you need to deliver, not just two or four or six.

"So there are sort of upsides and downsides to it, but we believe that the upside of that learning outweighs the others.”

Mercedes main supplier of engines

In addition to the four teams powered by Mercedes engines, in 2026 there will be three teams with a Ferrari engine, two teams with the new Red Bull Powertrains-Ford, one team with Honda and one team with Audi in Formula 1 active.

For Red Bull Powertrains-Ford and Audi, this will be their first season in the sport, which will undoubtedly pose a great challenge.