Motul & McLaren Racing Expand Partnership Into Formula 1 & WEC

For more than 10 years, through multiple GT3 collaborations, Motul and McLaren have worked together building a relationship of trust. This collaboration is now reaching a new milestone with a long-term partnership covering the two pinnacle disciplines of speed and endurance racing:

• Formula 1, where Motul has been supplying the lubricant for the MCL40’s gearbox and differential since the start of the 2026 season
• World Endurance Championship (WEC), where Motul will supply the engine and transmission lubricants for McLaren’s hypercar set to debut from the 2027 season.

Motul & the McLaren Mastercard F1 Team

Motul has returned to Formula 1 with the McLaren Mastercard F1 Team. For nine months, Motul R&D teams in France and Japan worked alongside McLaren to develop a bespoke formulation. More than 40 tests were conducted: preselection phases, tribological testing, material compatibility assessments, and final validations at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking. The result was a unique lubricant, specifically designed for the gearbox and differential of the MCL40, company officials stated in a press release.

This lubricant is unique within the ecosystem and plays a key role in optimizing mechanical efficiency and transmission system reliability. It has been designed to meet five critical Formula 1 requirements and challenges:

• Reduce stress and friction on mechanical components within the gearbox
• Operate across an extremely wide range of temperatures
• Ensure full transmission performance throughout Grand Prix conditions over the season, including under high gearbox pressures
• Deliver performance beyond the distance covered during a Grand Prix
• Guarantee both performance (friction reduction) and durability (mechanical protection)

“McLaren was already using a very high-performance transmission fluid, with an extremely high level of requirements,” said Julien Plet, head of R&D at Motul. “Our challenge was to go even further: decrease friction losses even more, while ensuring lubricant durability over time. The formulation developed with McLaren Racing has been validated to maintain its performance over several thousand kilometers under Formula 1 conditions. And this is only the beginning: in F1, cars are constantly evolving, and the formulation will continue to progress as well.”

Motul To Support McLaren Racing’s Hypercar in the 2027 WEC

In the World Endurance Championship, Motul will support McLaren Racing across the engine and transmission lubricants for its hypercar, set to enter competition in 2027. These fluids come from the Motul racing range, including 300V, which has become a benchmark for many endurance teams, noted the release.

“If our products can withstand conditions as demanding as those faced by the top racing teams, we know they meet the highest standards of quality and reliability,” Plet said. “These are the very same products we offer to our customers. This has been part of our promise to them for decades: greater protection, endurance and long-term reliability.”

Beyond fluids, Motul supports McLaren in the WEC with its Racing Lab. This mobile laboratory is a scientific workshop, equipped with high-tech instruments to analyze all fluid samples based on precise criteria: wear (metal particles), oxidation and thermal stability (oil condition) and fuel dilution (oil/engine degradation). This predictive maintenance approach, implemented by Motul since 2019, enables teams to adjust their settings in real time while simultaneously feeding directly into product development.