2017 Mclaren F1 Team - Honda

[kaepernickus]

I agree whit all of you...but it looks like Alonso is at war whit Honda.

I don't think he's "at war" with Honda.
In 2.5 years of non-existing performance and failures some (at times harsh) criticism is to be expected from a driver, who wants to win titles and joined McHonda to achieve this.
I don't think his criticism has been over the top most of the time and sometimes (e.g. Suzuka) understandable frustationplayed a big part. People are exaggerating this.

Also Alonso has been rather nice with Honda the past few weeks, definitely more positive than before.

[ZakB]

I want McLaren-Honda to work, please no French crap. McLaren-Renault, sounds --- as well. I highly doubt they will say goodbye to 100 million to change to Renault. I'm pretty sure they will be the 4th fastest team next year with Honda and it's not like Renault have shown indications that they can beat Mercedes or Ferrari. So I rather spend those 100 million on drivers and car development.

McLaren also stopped bashing Honda, so it seems more likely that they will continue with them.

Only with the latest 'Phase Three' development, introduced competitively at the Austrian Grand Prix in early July, has the Honda matched the performance level it had at the end of 2016.

Unsurprisingly, then, McLaren have been casting around for a customer engine deal. First it looked like they would get a Mercedes, but that chance has now gone, as has Ferrari. That leaves Renault.

No-one wants to see Honda leave F1, though, and the Japanese company are in talks with Red Bull about supplying junior team Toro Rosso.

Red Bull's motorsport boss Helmut Marko was not even bothering to deny this last weekend. "Let's see," he said, smiling, when I asked him whether Toro Rosso would have Honda engines next year.

Red Bull's strategy is clear - get the Honda in the Toro Rosso, the overall performance of which does not really matter, as the team exists to blood young drivers, and if and when Honda get their act together, switch it to Red Bull and become the Japanese company's works partner.

Helmut Marko
Red Bull's motorsport boss Helmut Marko has given nothing away on the possibility of a Honda engine in the Toro Rossos.
At McLaren, they have lost faith Honda can do the job. And while it might not seem such a bright idea to swap the worst engine in F1 for the second worst, and give up a net $100m a year in the process, performance-wise it might make sense.

The Renault is said to be 10-15kw (13-20bhp) off a customer Mercedes engine in race trim. The Honda is just over 60kw down (about 80bhp). That's a 60bhp power jump. Which as an average is about a second's worth of lap time.

That would have put Alonso on the second row in Hungary and the third row at Silverstone. And that makes selling sponsorship deals - all but impossible for McLaren at the moment - much easier. And it would probably be enough for Alonso to feel it was worth staying in F1.

McLaren are said to be optimistic a Renault deal can be done - and some senior figures also believe it is close. However, there are others who suspect that McLaren's Renault option will go the way of Mercedes and Ferrari - why, they argue, would the French manufacturer give engines to another team besides Red Bull who might beat them?

If that happens, McLaren would be stuck with Honda.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/40776162

[RedNEO]

If a team like sauber refused free engines in exchange for paid ones then it doesn't take a genius to figure out why McLaren would be contemplating the same thing.

[RedNEO]

Next year the engine has to be powerful and also reliable enough to last 6/7 races.

[zeph]

Saward seems to believe McRenault might happen:

Elsewhere Sauber and Ferrari have agreed to stay together for another three years, although the Swiss team will get a 2018 version of the engine next year. Is that better than a Honda? Well, time will tell. Honda and McLaren looked half-decent in Hungary but the word continues to be that the divorce is coming and that Honda will move to become the engine supplier of Toro Rosso. This is a win-win-win situation for all concerned. Honda gets to stay in F1 with a lower profile than with McLaren, Toro Rosso gets a free engine deal for three years, which means that the team will save $60 million, and if the engines start getting to be very good Red Bull can simply flip the engines on to Red Bull Racing and so there will be a factory supplier for Milton Keynes again. All of this means that McLaren and Renault bosses have been canoodling behind the F1 bike sheds and will soon announce that they are going to be together for three years… Renault will get to have three top teams using their power units (even if one is badged as TAG Heuer – a purely financial deal because the name of the engine appears on screen whenever the car is seen).

https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2017/08 ... eak-house/

[ZakB]

If a team like sauber refused free engines in exchange for paid ones then it doesn't take a genius to figure out why McLaren would be contemplating the same thing.

Small difference is that McLaren receives 100 million yearly, but I understand that they are down on price money and sponsorship, so maybe it's not even that bad to switch to Renault. 60bhp is a big step forward and a big step to close for Honda, especially considering that they are just on 2016 levels by now.

Didn't Alonso say at Baku that something behind the scenes made him happy?

[RedNEO]

If a team like sauber refused free engines in exchange for paid ones then it doesn't take a genius to figure out why McLaren would be contemplating the same thing.

Small difference is that McLaren receives 100 million yearly, but I understand that they are down on price money and sponsorship, so maybe it's not even that bad to switch to Renault. 60bhp is a big step forward and a big step to close for Honda, especially considering that they are just on 2016 levels by now.

Didn't Alonso say at Baku that something behind the scenes made him happy?

"I'm very proud of the team and we have worked well for the last three years," he declared. "Hopefully we will see each other next year as well if Eric (Boullier), Zak (Brown) or someone else sends me a nice gift. I think here we are fighting for seventh place, but it's not the position dreamed about by any driver. There are other things going on that are not about seventh position for next year, when I hope we are fighting instead for pole."

[RedNEO]

I hope whatever those things that are happening in the background go well. Anytime from now until the end of the month we will more or less find out and I think I speak for everyone that we want clarity. Luckily we had a fanstastic race to make the wait a bit easier.

[ZakB]

Let's hope the pain is going to be over soon, F1 needs McLaren at the top as well.

[Manoah2u]

Say what you want, but this topic counts 310 pages by now there's a whopping lot of interest in MCL

[ZakB]

Say what you want, but this topic counts 310 pages by now there's a whopping lot of interest in MCL

Of course, because people love comebacks and McLaren.

[Redragon]

Are we back to the discussions of Mclaren changing the engine maker? Renault is not doing too well too upon in reability.
Come on guys it has been confirmed few times, you had an official interview where it was confirmed that Mclaren will continue with Honda, even Zack the more exceptical has confirmed it. This weekend even Alonso confirmed that Mclaren will be with honda next year and hinted he might be as well upon the results of next update.
If Mclaren was going to change would have done 1 month ago.
You are falling once again on articles to bring clicks to their websites specially on summer break, Benson has been wrong few times in the last couple of months in same matter.
It is time to move on and recognise that Honda is improving quiet drastically in comparation to last 2 years with this new engine, in 6 months are at same level as 2016 an engine developed over 2 seasons.
I wouldn't be surprise if Honda is at same level that Renault at the end of season if not earlier.

[Manoah2u]

So what oil will help?

I mean, undeniably, Petronas has been doing something very, very, very good in collaboration with Mercedes to have a benefit over other top-class no-nonsense lubrificant manufacturers.
Which gets me to the point where one should also not underestimate the power of lubrificants/oil. Castrol? Lukasoil? what's their 'home' manufacturer?

also;

with Tobacco prohibited, why is Penske running Marlboro liveries and get away with it? offtopic

[kaepernickus]

with Tobacco prohibited, why is Penske running Marlboro liveries and get away with it? offtopic

http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/hel ... id82706867

Penske hasn't been running Marlboro livery since the start of 2010.
Before that Marlboro/Philip Morris were a big sponsor of the team.

The colours aren't prohibited, only the logo is afaik.

And before this whole thing starts again.
Philip Morris ended it's McLaren sponsorship at the end of the 1996 championship and was replaced by Reemtsma/West and the fitting livery for the 1997 season.

That's why there won't be a revival of the "classic McLaren-Honda" livery.

[Manoah2u]

with Tobacco prohibited, why is Penske running Marlboro liveries and get away with it? offtopic

http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/hel ... id82706867

Penske hasn't been running Marlboro livery since the start of 2010.
Before that Marlboro/Philip Morris were a big sponsor of the team.

The colours aren't prohibited, only the logo is afaik.

And before this whole thing starts again.
Philip Morris ended it's McLaren sponsorship at the end of the 1996 championship and was replaced by Reemtsma/West and the fitting livery for the 1997 season.

That's why there won't be a revival of the "classic McLaren-Honda" livery.

i know about Mclaren 's PM stuff, i was just curious to find out why a Penske could still run in these colours but in F1, it would be prohibited [just look at how tight things are on Ferrari]. IIRC even Lotus through Genii had to change the 'gold' to a more bland brownish teint to distance itself from JPS livery.I was however mistaken in the year of those penske's it seems.