Yahoo Autos McLaren Is Really Getting Sick of Honda's Engines
McLaren's partnership with Honda hasn't gone too well since it began in 2015. Three years into the tie-up, McLaren is dead last in the F1 Constructor's Championship with no points. There hasn't even been a single race this season where both of McLaren's entries made it to the checkered flag. Naturally, McLaren is sick of this.
Speaking to Reuters, McLaren Executive Director Zak Brown says the team has "serious concerns" about whether Honda can deliver a competitive engine. An expected update for this weekend's Canadian GP has been delayed, and McLaren is running out of patience.
"Honda’s working very hard but they seem a bit lost," Brown told Reuters. "We were only told recently that we wouldn’t have the upgrade coming [for the Canadian GP]...and we don’t have a definitive timeline, which is concerning because the pain is great and we can’t sit around forever."
McLaren isn't quite ready to dump Honda, but that is an option it's considering. Earlier reports have suggested that McLaren might tap Mercedes for engines.
"I don’t want to get into what our options are," Brown said. "Our preference is to win the world championship with Honda. But at some point you need to make a decision as to whether that’s achievable. And we have serious concerns."
One reason McLaren is sticking with Honda for now is because the Japanese automaker reportedly contributes $100 million to the team's annual budget. McLaren, which hasn't won a race since 2012, has lost a lot of sponsors recently, so breaking off its partnership with Honda might be financially ruinous for the team.
There is some hope Honda's power unit will soon improve, though. Honda recently inked a deal to supply Sauber with engines next year, which actually provides more opportunity for the Japanese company do dial in its engines.
McLaren better hope that works because otherwise, it might have a hard time convincing Fernando Alonso to stick around.
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