Pundit claims Toto Wolff was against supplying McLaren Mercedes power units

F1 pundit Ralf Bach has claimed that Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff was never in favor of supplying McLaren with the team's engines back in 2021. The British team ended its partnership with Renault and switched to the Mercedes PU, which has been pivotal in its recent F1 success.

Mercedes has struggled to come to terms with the ongoing ground-effect era in F1 which has been in place since 2022. Before this, the Silver Arrows dominated the beginning of the turbo-hybrid era, winning every constructors' championship from 2014 to 2021.

While it is the aerodynamics that Mercedes has not been able to crack, the team's power units do not seem to be the problem. This has been showcased by McLaren. The Papayas have turned into the quickest package in F1 in 2024, and have continued their trajectory in 2025.

While McLaren has a lot to be thankful to Mercedes for, F1 journalist and pundit Ralf Bach has claimed that Toto Wolff never wanted to supply McLaren with their engines.

"I know that Toto Wolff didn’t want this McLaren deal. He simply couldn’t prevent it back then, because [Andreas] Seidl knew with Renault they couldn’t go any further. They needed Mercedes engines to take the next step," said Bach. [via F1-Insider]

Over the last couple of seasons, Mercedes has been found lagging well behind a customer team, raising questions over the team and Toto Wolff. The German team is more than 300 points behind McLaren in the 2025 constructors' standings with nine rounds of the season still to go.

Mercedes will also continue to provide McLaren with power units for the upcoming 2026 regulations.

From early reports, Mercedes is rumored to have developed the strongest engines for next year. With these new regulations being touted to make the sport more engine-centric again, the German team may well be helping out one of its closest rivals in 2026.

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Bach reveals how McLaren ended up securing Mercedes power unit deal even amid Toto Wolff's pushback

Toto Wolff and Zak Brown at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Adding further to his claim about Toto Wolff not being in favor of supplying McLaren with Mercedes engines, Ralf Bach explained that this deal was struck directly between Mansour Ojjeh and Ola Källenius. Ojjeh was the majority shareholder in the McLaren group, while Källenius is the CEO of the Mercedes-Benz Group.

Speaking to the aforementioned outlet, Bach revealed how the deal was struck between the two aces, with Kallenius also having a soft spot for McLaren.

"Back then, Mansour Ojjeh, the McLaren shareholder and legend, was still alive and he basically made the deal directly with the Mercedes boss, Ola Källenius, who himself was always a McLaren fan," said Bach.

"So suddenly they had Mercedes engines, and that was the basis for getting where they are today. With Renault, that would never have worked," he added.

While the deal has been counterproductive for Mercedes on sporting grounds, the company has still profited from it on a financial level. McLaren has also only recently renewed the deal, relying on the Mercedes engines until 2030.