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McLaren keeping "all options open" for 2018

Published on 31 May 2017 15:40
3
By: Fergal Walsh

McLaren is considering all their options for 2018 as they attempt to jump to the front of the grid. The team has endured a torrid 2017 season so far, currently sitting lonely at the bottom of the constructor standings. Their partnership with Honda has been strained to the limit, and are on the verge of losing lead driver Fernando Alonso.

McLaren began their reunion with Honda in 2015 but so far it has left them no higher than the mid-field pack, with unreliability being a major setback. Alonso has spoken out against Honda's input over the last number of years and his displeasure was backed up by his recent decision to skip the Monaco Grand Prix.

"We've got to work through our issues and our issues are substantial in the back of the car," Brown said. "2018 is not far away, so we are going to have to evaluate how we get to the front of the field, and as Jonathan Neale my partner in racing [and McLaren COO] has said, all options are on the table and we have to get back to the front. We're not quite sure how we are going to do that, but we are working on it."

With Alonso already announcing that he wants to race a competitive car in 2018, his future at McLaren is in doubt. He has already been linked with moves to Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault, and Brown knows it will be difficult to get the Spaniard to stay at the team.

"Certainly sitting here right now it looks very difficult imagining us running for the world championship next year. But you can make big progress. We're trying to figure out how to get ourselves in that position and we've got a little bit of time before the summer break.

"Let's see how the next few months go. And I don't know about convincing Fernando, he's going to convince himself whether he feels it's an environment he wants to race in. I think we'll let Fernando and the race team do the talking and see how we are in the second half of the year."

Fergal Walsh

F1 News Fernando Alonso Mercedes McLaren Renault Ferrari Honda

Replies (3)

F1todayfan101

Posts: 120
If MCL aren't already designing a tub for a different engine then 2018 will be just the same as 2016 was for them.... why they have failed to respond correctly to the abysmal efforts of Honda is beyond me. Some really poor business decision being made by them and Honda. They are both a laughing stock, especially after the indy fiasco.....
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- May 31 2017 - 16:31
ajpennypacker

Posts: 2,475
If you really think about it, Honda's success in Formula 1 was a one-off. Every other attempt has been mediocre at best (i.e. a couple of wins with Jordan-Mugen-Honda). The Honda car in the 2000's was a complete joke. The more I think about it, the less hope I have for Honda.

Regarding Indy... that was very unfortunate, but Honda is great in Indy. Remember they won the race too.
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- May 31 2017 - 17:46
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Im inclined to disagree. If that was a one off, it was a very long lasting one. And while they didnt win titles after the turbo era, they remained competitive, with supplied teams winning races (notably BAR Honda ran 2nd in 2004, a competitive year). And then we have the Brawn GP car, a car built by Honda but in a last minute ditch made to fit an F1 engine when Honda withdrew. Had they not decided to withdraw in the last minute, Im pretty sure JB would've won in a Honda.
  
  Their biggest mistake was leaving F1 in the first place, and their second biggest mistake was returning unprepared. By now they have probably permanently damaged their branding. But Im more unsure now about whether Honda will become competitive in F1 again than I used to be. :/
  + 0
  
  Jun 1 2017 - 00:10