McLaren 'did due dilligence' over change before new Mercedes deal

McLaren did its "due diligence" over a potential power unit supplier change, before eventually settling on a Mercedes renewal, according to Zak Brown.

At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday, it was announced that McLaren had decided to sign a contract extension with Mercedes to run until the end of the 2030 season.

The McLaren-Mercedes partnership joined forces once again in 2021 after McLaren opted to go with Honda for 2015, before switching to Renault power in 2018 after the failure of the Honda deal.

There had been suggestions that McLaren could look elsewhere for a power unit supply, especially with the 2026 rules reset on the horizon, but while CEO Brown conceded other suppliers were looked at, he was firm of McLaren's intention to remain with Mercedes.

"We were always going to continue with Mercedes," Brown told Sky Sports F1.

"Of course, you do due diligence and see what everyone else is up to before making a final decision, but we've got a long history with Mercedes.

'We got back to winning ways with Mercedes and they've done an outstanding job, we've got a really close collaboration that I think will be even closer now, so it was pretty much a no-brainer.

"We just had to work through the details but I'm really happy to announce it and just have a focus within the team that we know what we're doing moving forward."

McLaren is also engaged with Aston Martin in a battle for fourth in the Constructors', currently leading Aston Martin by 11 points.

However, the team that does finish fifth will receive extra development time for the start of the 2024 season, as opposed to a higher prize money payout.

Brown was unequivocal over what he would prefer.

"I would definitely prefer to finish better in the championship and sacrifice some wind tunnel time," he said.

"It's been a long season and great job by the team, so to be here, fighting for fourth in the championship is not what I would have expected given the start of the year.

"Wherever we end up, obviously fourth is better than fifth, so that is what we are pishing for. It's been an outstanding season for us and we're learning and ready for next year, but we've got to finish strong."