Co-creator of performance with McLaren Mastercard Formula 1® Team
Motul Official Supplier - Gearbox & Differential Fluids
Motul is the Official Supplier of transmission lubricants to the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1® Team, covering the McLaren MCL40 from 2026. The Motul-McLaren Racing partnership is not an off-the-shelf solution, it is a genuine technical collaboration between Motul's R&D engineers and McLaren's transmission team: a custom formulation built from scratch, tested to McLaren's precise specifications, and continuously refined for every possible performance gain.
From the outset, Motul made a defining choice: to use motorsport, and specifically its work with McLaren Racing, as a real open-air laboratory. Every solution developed with McLaren Racing is tested, refined, and validated in extreme conditions, with direct transfer to the gearbox oil and differential fluid products Motul sells to everyday drivers.
Developing the Motul Ultra High-Performance Fluid for McLaren Racing
THE ORIGIN OF THE RELATIONSHIP
Motul has collaborated with both McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotivea in motorsport for years, from GT3 racing to endurance racing. That shared track experience built mutual trust and proved Motul's ability to deliver high-performance, tailor-made fluids to McLaren's specifications.
THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
This Motul-McLaren Racing partnership was formalized through a nine-month competitive technical tender focused on transmission lubricants. Motul's R&D teams in France and Japan worked closely with McLaren engineers through regular technical exchanges, laboratory simulations, and intensive testing campaigns.
THE VALIDATION
The final Motul formulation for McLaren MCL40 was validated through 40+ laboratory and performance tests, advanced tribological pre-screening, compatibility studies with Formula 1® materials, and final validation at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking. This experimental gearbox oil represents the continuation of Motul's technical proximity to elite motorsport innovation.
Racing driving every innovation
Beyond protection. Engineering performance.
Motul's bespoke ultra high-performance fluid for the McLaren MCL40 goes far beyond traditional lubrication. Every part of the Motul formulation was engineered alongside McLaren Mastercard Formula 1® Team to unlock performance advantages a standard gearbox oil cannot deliver.
Bespoke, not off-the-shelf
The extreme performance and reliability demands of Formula 1® required Motul to develop a fluid specifically for the McLaren MCL40, iterating rapidly alongside McLaren's engineering team. The Motul oil is co-developed and tested to precise McLaren specifications, continuously refined even after homologation, with dedicated Motul-McLaren formulation work carried out session by session, including qualifying.
Oil that changes the car
Surpassing the capabilities of traditional transmission oils, this unique lubricant plays a key role in optimising mechanical efficiency and transmission reliability. It has been designed to reduce stress and friction within gearbox components, operate across a very wide range of extreme temperatures, support all transmission operating conditions throughout the Grand Prix season including high internal pressures, perform well beyond the distance covered over several race weekends, and guarantee both performance and durability.
Felt at the wheel
The Motul-McLaren collaboration extends to the differential, where optimizing stick-slip behavior in the anti-slip clutch assembly creates a measurable difference in how the McLaren MCL40 car responds to the driver. From corner exit to tyre management, the improvements Motul engineered in traction, torque control, and power delivery are felt directly at the wheel.
Motul R&D: From McLaren Mastercard Formula 1® Team to Your Garage
The same Motul R&D teams developing experimental fluids for the McLaren MCL40 also create the high-performance engine and transmission fluids available to everyday drivers, racing driving every Motul innovation.
What brings us together
Hear it from both sides.
Read the official statements from Nick Martin, Co-Chief Commercial Officer at McLaren Racing, and Andreea Culcea, Brand & Communication Director at Motul, on the Motul-McLaren Partnership.