Winning both championships this season seemed to be the target for Zak Brown-led McLaren in the 2025 F1 season. However, they might face some trouble in the upcoming season as Mercedes has just dropped an interesting statement.

With the changing regulations in the 2026 F1 season, a competitive and reliable engine is what the teams will be looking forward to. On the positive side, Mercedes and Ferrari are expected to have the strongest engines next year, directly helping McLaren.

But will that be the case? The recent hint from Mercedes says something else.

Zak Brown and Co. could face major hurdles in 2026

Mercedes engines have powered McLaren for a long time. In fact, even during their recent seasons when the team struggled for pace, their power units were rather strong. This partnership has turned out to be great for the team, but that might be about to change.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff recently revealed that the German manufacturer might look to limit the number of teams it supplies engines to. He said this after a discussion with Chairman Ola Kallenius.

“Our current mindset is, also discussing with Ola, that we will reduce the amount of teams we’re going to supply in the next cycle,” he said.

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Further, when asked about the number of teams they are willing to supply to, Wolff said that it would be “between two and three, I guess. It depends on new regulations going forward. Are they rather simple or not? What is it we believe we can learn by supplying more [teams] whilst at the same time needing to lock in some designs earlier?” he added.

The new regulations have some major modifications in the current turbo-hybrid V6 engines. This also includes 50% of the power coming from the battery, and the rest from the ICE. Understandably, it could be difficult for engine manufacturers to produce reliable engines and supply them to all of the teams, hence the statement from Toto Wolff.

So who Mercedes will choose as its engine receiver is yet to be finalized. But if it’s not McLaren, the question then arises,

Can McLaren continue with their dominant form in 2026?

McLaren built on their strong form from 2024 to dominate this season with Lando Norris winning the title, but could they follow the trend into 2026? It is tough to say as of now. Unlike 2025, the transition into the 2026 season will be quite tricky, considering the changing regulations.

The cars will be smaller, with active aero elements, no more DRS, and major changes in the engines. Encompassing all of this, it is tough to say which team will be the first to get the regulations right. This is quite similar to the 2014 season, when Mercedes began with a dominating era with the new engine regulations.

The 2026 season can be considered a blank canvas for all teams; there is no certainty of which team will be at the top. But a few guesses can be made.

The odds look favorable towards Aston Martin. With Adrian Newey as their team principal and Honda as PU supplier, they seem to have the best crew, along with Fernando Alonso behind the wheel.

However, it wouldn’t be surprising if some other team gets to the top. With the championship money, in fact, even Zak Brown’s crew could keep McLaren at the top, but it will be interesting to see.