McLaren will appear at the Belgian GP with the latest specification of the Mercedes engine. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will receive the updated power unit two races after George Russell and Kimi Antonelli already drove it on behalf of the factory team in Austria. Williams and Alpine also switched to the new specification during the British Grand Prix. McLaren held off for a while because the existing engines were still within their lifespan.
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The new Mercedes engine mainly contains reliability improvements, something McLaren has been in great need of this season. The team already struggled with several technical problems in 2026, including separate battery failures that prevented Norris and Piastri from starting the Chinese GP in March. In addition to the new power unit, McLaren is also bringing a new rear wing to Spa, which will be extensively evaluated during the free practice sessions on Friday. It may be a new version of their own ‘Macarena wing.’ This was already brought to Austria but was not tested on the car.
‘Not an easy race’
“Our preparation has been thorough, with extensive simulation work to prepare us for what we believe will be a very demanding weekend in terms of energy management,” said chief engineer Neil Houldey in an official preview. “We are coming to Spa with a new rear wing. That upgrade has been planned for some time as part of the car’s development plan.”
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However, McLaren does not expect the updates to immediately cause a major turnaround after the disappointing weekend at Silverstone. “We are confident that this update will improve the performance of our car, but we are fully aware that after a difficult British GP, especially in terms of pure performance, this race will not be easy either. Therefore, we do not expect major changes in competitiveness.” The team is also working on a much larger upgrade package that is set to debut at the Hungarian GP.
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