It’s official, this is what Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button will be driving for the 2015 Formula 1 season, and it’s called the McLaren Honda MP4-30. Quite the looker too.
Aesthetically, the car features a revised red, black and silver color scheme, with only a few elements carried over from the 2014 car. We’re happy to see the color red being back on the car after a 1 year hiatus – last season’s car was a true departure from the way a McLaren Formula 1 car generally looked.
There were also a few people hoping to see a clear white and red combination on the car, such as it was during McLaren and Honda’s last partnership from the late 80’s and early 90’s. However we’re glad they didn’t give up on their “Silver Arrow” heritage – even though the originals were Mercedes cars.
McLaren had stuck with the Silver theme ever since 1998, so it wouldn’t seem fair to change just because Mercedes GP recently (from 2010) got back in the mix.
Underneath the MP4-30’s body lies Honda’s brand new RA615H Hybrid power unit, which as McLaren chairman and CEO Ron Dennis hopes will lead to Grand Prix wins and “eventually World Championships as McLaren-Honda.”
Yasuhisa Arai, Honda’s senior managing officer shared Dennis’ beliefs, stating that “As you can see with the new MP4-30, we’ve dedicated ourselves as one team with McLaren to creating a new car that compromises on nothing – either power or aerodynamics. We’re confident that the technology is there, and I’m looking forward to see how it will perform.”.
Overall, it sounds like a very competitive package. Last years’ Mercedes-powered MP4-29 was somewhat of a disappointment finishing 5th in the constructors’ championship.
The new McLaren-Honda MP4-30 will make its track debut this Sunday during pre-season testing in Spain.