[TSM330i]

I understand that the deal they're getting from Honda is stellar, but when you're the laughing stock of the paddock, it's a tough pill to swallow. Especially how successful McLaren has been in the past.

Just a week before the season-opening race, McLaren may be shopping

McLaren officials have spoken to Mercedes about a possible switch away from the faltering Honda power units this Formula 1 season.

With the start of the 2017 Formula 1 World Championship season just over a week away, McLaren has been in conversations with Mercedes about the possibility of using the power units that were previously destined for the now out-of-business Manor team, despite McLaren racing director Eric Boullier stating at the test in Barcelona that there was “no plan at all” to end the McLaren-Honda partnership.

Neither McLaren or Mercedes have made any formal comment about the meeting other than a brief comment from a McLaren spokesperson who said that preseason had been “challenging and disappointing,” before adding, “We are working with Honda to address shortcomings and deficiencies. Together with Honda, we are considering all options.”

If the British team were to part company with Honda, this would be less than straightforward -- the team currently receives around $100 million, free power units and a significant sponsorship package. Honda also pays half of the drivers' wages.

When compared to the $18.2 million that Mercedes charges customer teams, it is very difficult to see how it would be possible to make the finances add up; the team has been without a title sponsor since Vodafone left at the end of 2013.

McLaren and Honda enjoyed one of the largest periods of dominance in Formula 1 history when the two companies partnered up between 1988 and 1992, claiming four constructors' and drivers' championship doubles along the way, but the relationship that was rekindled in 2015 has been a stark contrast to the successes of the past.

Now, after a troubled pair of preseason tests thanks largely to issues within the Honda unit, it would appear as though patience with the Japanese manufacturer is wearing thin.



Read more: http://autoweek.com/article/formula-...#ixzz4baMBYtcP

[TSM330i]

Honda may be committed, but McLaren is in the business to win races. If their power units can't be reliable and make enough power to be competitive, then commitment isn't going to do any of that. They need results.

Honda '100% committed to McLaren and F1 despite Mercedes rumours

Honda remains "100% committed" to a future with McLaren in Formula 1, despite a troubled start to 2017 and the team approaching Mercedes over an engine deal.

McLaren endured eight difficult days of pre-season testing at Barcelona, plagued by a lack of power and poor reliability from the new Honda engine.

Racing director Eric Boullier admitted during the test that relations between McLaren and Honda have become strained to the "maximum", and sources confirmed this week that McLaren has sounded out Mercedes about returning to its fold as a customer team.

A McLaren spokesman said McLaren was considering its options "together with Honda", while Honda has confirmed to Autosport that it has no desire to re-evaluate its long-term partnership with McLaren or its future in Formula 1.

"Of course the situation we find ourselves in is not what we hoped for when we returned to Formula 1, but we are still 100% committed to our future in the sport and our relationship with McLaren," Honda F1 chief Yusuke Hasegawa told Autosport.

"We believe in this partnership as does McLaren, and in order to move forward it is important for us to work as one team and overcome the situation together.

"The priority is to maintain honest and open communication, and to continue strengthening all relationships between Honda and McLaren despite the difficulties we are facing.

"This is not a short-term project for us."

UPDATES FOR MELBOURNE

Honda says it has already implemented fixes for the reliability problems that surfaced during pre-season testing, and is pressing on with plans to improve the driveability and extract more power from the engine ahead of the first race.

"Obviously the problems we had in Barcelona limited our track time and put added pressure on our pre-season preparations, however, we were still able to generate a huge amount of useful data - as was McLaren," Hasegawa added.

"Also, we were not dealing with lots of different problems, despite how it looked from the outside.

"Already while in Barcelona we were able to introduce some countermeasures and we proved the effectiveness of these during test two.

"In terms of performance, there is room for improvement with mapping before Melbourne in order to have better driveability.

"And at the same time we will continue to work on our development to generate more power from the PU."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report...mclaren-and-f1

[Mtxzptlk]

Not likely to happen. $100 + million is ALOT to leave out.

2018 would be more likely if it this were to happen at all.

I do hope that Honda quickly sorts out its engine issues. Reading the testing Barcelona testing reports was very very painful.

[TSM330i]

Originally Posted by Mtxzptlk

Not likely to happen. $100 + million is ALOT to leave out.

2018 would be more likely if it this were to happen at all.

I do hope that Honda quickly sorts out its engine issues. Reading the testing Barcelona testing reports was very very painful.

I agree completely. VERY difficult to walk away from that kind of money, but let's face it, McLaren is now selling street cars as a part of their business - directly competing with Ferrari. Being the laughing stock of the F1 paddock won't sit well with McLaren at all.

If 2017 doesn't go well, I can see McLaren making a change and Honda throwing in the towel (again). The amount or resources this program takes up has to be enormous. If they're not getting what they need out of it, then why do it.

Tough one for sure. I'd like to see them succeed. We need other manufacturers in the sport.

[E90SLAM]

No way for 2017, chassis and attachments are completely different, also cooling philosophy are different. Especially Power Units nowadays are a lot more complicated compare to back then Mercedes supplied Brawn GP with the NA-V8.

[AW335TT]

Power unit attachments (the v6) are the same for all cars, but gearbox and stuff are different.

Honestly, Honda should have supplied at least 2 teams, to keep McLaren honest. Teams love blaming the power unit but the truth is, the Honda power unit only has issues once it meets McLarens chassis.

McLaren just points its finger at Honda, but all the track side reports of the McL have been negative, the car is very unstable/twitchy. Part of that can be from the power unit, most experts agree tho, that the Mclaren chassis isnt on the same level as the top guys.

Those engines go through a lot of dyno testing and until the engine met McLarens chassis, Honda thought they had a solid power unit.

A lot of teams have the engine and chassis built in seperate locations but they are usually very close to each other. The long distance between Mclaren and Honda isnt doing them any favors.

[AW335TT]

and that deal with Honda is insanee.. thats got to be a tough decision, giving up 100 mill plus about 18 mill per engine.

I dont see how the team will survive without Honda, they barely have any sponsors.

[TSM330i]

I was at the F1 debrief with Leigh Diffey, David Hobbs, Steve Matchett and Mario Andretti in Sellersville, PA last week.

Steve Matchett said he spoke to a high level McLaren Motorsports manager and he told Steve not to be surprised if you see McLaren disappear from the grid in a couple of years.

This shocked all of them, but they also thought back to Brabham, Lotus etc. when they were in their heyday and never thought they'd disappear from the grid, but they did.