'McLaren still do not fully understand the Mercedes power unit' - Alex Jacques

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

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. I'm saying, 'Oh, you must be pretty chuffed. Mercedes seem to be ahead. You've got the same power unit.'

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

"And they were always like, 'Well, it's not quite what you think. You know, it's teething issues. It's not bad, but we're still trying to get onto understanding Mercedes.'

"And I think we've learned a lot more after Melbourne, the problems the customer teams have got with the Mercedes power unit. They've basically been given the tools. They have to have the same hardware and software, but they've not been told how to optimise it by a team that know how to do it and effectively are trying to keep their cards close to their chest.

"So McLaren, who've beaten them for the last couple of years, can't go and gazump them again. And it's not only hurting McLaren, but also Williams and Alpine, who can't use effectively the best power unit in the optimum way."