According to Red Bull’s Christian Horner, Honda is “very keen” to supply his team with engines next year, even though the deal is currently being blocked by McLaren CEO Ron Dennis.

Dennis has vetoed the deal, a right given to him by Honda back when the two manufacturers decided to combine forces once again in Formula 1. In order for Red Bull to receive a Honda power unit for next season, they would have had to get a green light from both McLaren and Honda, which still leaves the Milton Keynes-based team in the dark.

Last week it was Niki Lauda himself who suggested that Red Bull should do everything in their power to fix their relationship with Renault, since at the moment getting a Mercedes, Ferrari and even a Honda engine looks impossible.

Horner was quoted recently as saying that “I haven’t spoken to anybody from McLaren other than Ron Dennis, who is the one guy who has the right of say there and his views were quite clear. Honda are very keen, but unfortunately they have a contractual status that is between them and McLaren that’s nothing to do with us.”

Judging just by performance, it would be a much better idea for Red Bull to patch things up with Renault than to roll the dice with Honda, hoping the Japanese manufacturer actually gains those 2.5 seconds that Fernando Alonso was talking about.

“We are not going to get involved. Bernie and Jean Todt [FIA president] have made their positions clear regarding the situation, so we rely really on them to deal with that,” added Horner.

While Dennis may have a strong saying in what goes on with the Honda unit, the Japanese manufacturer also needs to consider the fact that they signed an agreement with the FIA and FOM, stating that should there be a demand, it would supply two teams in their 2nd year and three teams in their 3rd.

It seems that whatever happens, McLaren and Honda have a lot of talking to do amongst themselves, while Red Bull need to walk the line very carefully, between being willing to accept any deal that’s on the table, and holding off for a better one.

Unfortunately for them, time is clearly not on their side.

Story references: autosport

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