It’s no secret that things aren’t going well for McLaren since it embarked on its current partnership with Honda, and things aren’t looking any better for the season ahead.
Now reports indicate that if Honda doesn’t get its act together soon, McLaren could jump ship and arrange an engine supply deal with another manufacturer.
That manufacturer, according to reports published by Autosport and Motorsport, could be Mercedes. Though spokesmen for the team refused to comment on the media speculation, word around the paddock is that McLaren has already approached its former partner on the prospect.
Speculation was further fueled by McLaren’s racing director Eric Boullier telling Spanish reporters that he believed the team would be challenging for race wins if it switched to Mercedes engines. This in contradiction to earlier assertions that the team needed a works supply deal (like it had with Mercedes and now has with Honda) in order to win.
McLaren ran under Mercedes power from 1995 (a few years after its first collaboration with Honda ended) through 2014 before bringing Honda back into the fold. Together McLaren and Mercedes won three drivers’ championships (with Mike Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton) and one constructors’ title, and even lead to Mercedes buying part of McLaren, and the two partnering on the SLR road car before the marriage disintegrated.
Since leaving Mercedes for Honda, McLaren has yet to score a single podium finish, let alone a race win, and much less a run at the title. It has retired from nearly as many races as it has finished in the past two seasons (often due to mechanical problems with the Honda powertrain), finishing ninth in the 2015 standings and sixth last season – its worst results since the early 1980s. This despite having two former world champions (Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button) behind the wheel.
The switch would likely require Honda’s approval, however, as the two are locked in a multi-year deal. That is, unless McLaren worked a performance clause into the contract, or Honda freely admits it’s not up to the challenge.
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