McLaren to use Renault Engines

[rev-erend]

Nice article on BBC sport seems to be suggesting the long running debacle that is McLaren Honda may soon be over.

Take a read - it is interesting.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/41230504

Thoughts - done deal or just a guess ?

[Don Veloci]

Very simplified view but if it does happen I guess they'll be expecting to be around Red Bull's level.

If/when they're not I think the media will be on their case about that.

[CraigyMc]

rev-erend said:

Nice article on BBC sport seems to be suggesting the long running debacle that is McLaren Honda may soon be over.

Take a read - it is interesting.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/41230504

Thoughts - done deal or just a guess ?

It's a guess, and in the absence of a firm statement, that's all these stories are.

[pozi]

Don Veloci said:

Very simplified view but if it does happen I guess they'll be expecting to be around Red Bull's level.

If/when they're not I think the media will be on their case about that.

Expectation and reality, Mclaren has been good at touting the former but sadly missing the latter, and that has been the problem since the last Merc powered years.

[SmoothCriminal]

Doesn't matter they had the best engine strapped into their chasis for years and what did they manage 1 wdc with Hamilton.

Won't be any change even with messiah Alonso.

[HustleRussell]

This seems to be all but confirmed

Now watch Honda significantly improve for 2018 while McLaren's chassis fails to deliver...

[thegreenhell]

Now reported on Autosport, so it's all but official.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/131767/mclaren-a...

[rubystone]

HustleRussell said:

This seems to be all but confirmed

Now watch Honda significantly improve for 2018 while McLaren's chassis fails to deliver...

Unlikely that the fault lies in McLaren's chassis, but just where are Renault at with the tech in their engine? All this talk of 3D printed pistons and oil being burnt as fuel...are they up with that too?

[dafeller]

This seems to be a done deal. My question is: in an era where teams are developing cars a year or two in advance of a season, and the integration of the complex power system seems to dominate so many of the design parameters, how likely is it that this change makes any immediate difference to McLaren? Don't they need perhaps the lion's share of a new car to wrap around the Renault power train? It's not like they can just yank the Honda lump/system out of the back and drop in the Renault.

Or--warning, conspiracy theory--have McLaren actually known about this change for some time and have had a separate development team back in Woking building the 2018 car with Renault's help, even while they race the Honda?

People with a better understanding of the development process, please weigh in here.

[DanielSan]

Given how long it's likely they've been on the hunt for a new engine, and realistically they knew Ferrari definitely weren't going to supply them an engine and Mercedes were unlikely to I'd imagine they've spoken to Renault from early on and even arranged the whole Honda swap to a Renault team situation to a certain degree.

[hairyben]

DanielSan said:

Given how long it's likely they've been on the hunt for a new engine, and realistically they knew Ferrari definitely weren't going to supply them an engine and Mercedes were unlikely to I'd imagine they've spoken to Renault from early on and even arranged the whole Honda swap to a Renault team situation to a certain degree.

How so? Merc have/had capacity to provide for 4, renault have always seemed less keen on the idea. The issue feels to me to be on mclarens side not wanting to publically egg their own faces by going back to merc, after making such a deal about needing to be a works team, thus putting their failures on the merc engine...

[DanielSan]

Unlikely for the reasons you've just stated...

[Supersam83]

Will the deal include the Renault engines to be re-branded as something else? Just like Red Bull with Tag Heuer.

Could we see McLaren-Infiniti for example.

[Gary C]

HustleRussell said:

This seems to be all but confirmed

Now watch Honda significantly improve for 2018 while McLaren's chassis fails to deliver...

Not sure Mario is that much of a wizard

[anonymous-user]

So will McLaren be a top team again with Renault engines??

If the engine is good in 2018 then McLaren better make sure the rest of the package is up to speed.

[thegreenhell]

The only certainty is that they won't have any easy excuses available next year.

[Buzz84]

Supersam83 said:

Will the deal include the Renault engines to be re-branded as something else? Just like Red Bull with Tag Heuer.

Could we see McLaren-Infiniti for example.

McLaren-Nissan?

McLaren-Dacia?

McLaren-Lada?

There are a few to choose from!

[wibble cb]

2009 Honda was designed around a Honda power unit, dropping a Mercedes power unit in there at the last minute once Brawn took over didn't seem to cause much of an issue....

[hairyben]

DanielSan said:

Unlikely for the reasons you've just stated...

Mclaren never really blamed the merc engine though - well they couldnt really - more the fact they themselves weren't a works team. And it seemed a fairly amicable divorce, compared say to the noises coming out of red bull over the renault PU (which is maybe why renault haven't exactly been hyper keen to provide engines to another top team)

You dont know the ins and outs of course, but to me it simply feels like its mclarens hangup rather than mercs.

[Dr Murdoch]

How will they keep up with the others in the development race?

They're losing 100 million from Honda, they are now paying for Renault engines and they have hardly any sponsors of note.

Oh, and Alonso on the books.