McLaren executive director Zak Brown says both Ferrari and Mercedes have ruled out the possibility of supplying the struggling F1 team with engines next season.
For the past three years, the British squad has been crippled by underpowered and unreliable Honda engines and was looking at switching powertrains for 2018 and beyond.
“We’re a great team, McLaren has shown the ability to win races and championships. But I think several other teams enjoy seeing us where we are today,” Brown said. “They fear we can go back to being a threat, a fear which is understandable.”
Motorsport reports that there’s a slight chance the McLaren team could look to Renault to provide its engines but such a deal is unlikely to be reached as the French marque isn’t keen on supplying four teams with its engines, fearing negative effects on reliability.
Lead McLaren driver Fernando Alonso is said to be pushing the outfit to select an engine supplier quickly so the uncompetitive team can start development of its 2018 car in earnest.
Speaking about the dilemma, Brown suggested that Honda has what it takes to get the job done.
“We’ve spoken with Honda about a variety of different scenarios. We ultimately think that Honda can get the job done, they have in the past.
“We need to make sure the development comes at a faster pace. We’re starting to work on our 2018 car now and you can only go so far before you need to know the architecture of what you’re doing,” he said.
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