This forum contains threads to discuss teams themselves. Anything not technical about the cars, including restructuring, performances etc belongs here.
But Mclaren has a deal with Renault until end of 2020, so if anything it could only happen from 2021
With Honda, too, was a contract
Yes but it was beneficial to both parties to stop the partnership and so far Mclaren and Renault have a good solid collaboration and I dont see any reason why Mclaren would want to change PU and redesign its chassis all over again 1 seaons before the new rules are applicable
I remember back in 2017, during the disastrous preseason testing and McLaren were looking to see if they could switch to Mercedes, there was an interesting article I read. From what was being reported, McLaren wanted a works level deal with Mercedes. I guess something equivalent to the MotoGP satellite teams that have factory support. Of course McLaren would pay, but it was not accepted. Mansour Ojjeh believed his long and good relationship with the Mercedes boss would make the deal possible. Though later, there was a story by Toto that McLaren took too long to make their minds up. But I remember Zak also said that nobody else could or agreed to give them what they have with Renault.
Last edited by Ground Effect on 05 Jul 2019, 17:16, edited 1 time in total.
Q: (Stefano Mancini – La Stampa) Kimi, will you help Vettel to win his championship this year?
Kimi Raikkonen: I can only drive one car, obviously.
@2018 Singapore Grand Prix drivers press conference.
2 - I think the Merc PU is alot wider than Renault and would require, again, another complete aero redesign. I'm not sure that is worth the effort.
3- From what Renault said the Merc PU doesn't have more power in race or quali mode.
4- I think the reliability issues Merc PU has had suggests that everyone has caught up, bring in upgrades with less testing than in the past, and some (Ferrari) are more powerful.
I think Mclaren currently has the best available customer engine on the grid. It would be madness to change for many reasons. No doubt, at some point, if the improvement continues, they will seek some kind of partnership, but don't see any way that can be with Mercedes. Remember the original partnership was dissolved in no small part because they viewed Mclaren as a direct road car competitor.
I think changing engine without knowing the detail of the new rule is not good practice. However, it may be a good practice to see who can be best prepared for the new formula and position yourself to be the customer.
i dont see McLaren changing engine suppliers until they start consistently winning again for a few reasons (1) changing engine integration again could disrupt the progress they are making on the chassis (2) you would rather have the works team behind you than in front of you (3) RBR has shown it is possible to win without the best engine on the grid
The last thing Mclaren need now or next year is more instability. They are just getting themselves sorted after a bad spell, so consolidate, get the system, staff and drivers stable before going off into the unknown again. Even if they get a Merc engine, it is not a given they will be fighting with the factory Merc, and even if it was, Honda is an unknown for next year and bey leapfrog Merc, as may Ferrari.
What Mclaren need now is stability and a known path.
When arguing with a fool, be sure the other person is not doing the same thing.
Finally Honda got their first win after literally 5 years of painful failures though the win was mostly due to the Red Bull chassis and the talent of Max Verstappen. Last season though Red Bull won 3 races with the Renault engine. Still that is not the point here. What is going on with the Honda fanbase? Why do you feel the need to bother us? Do you have such a big inferiority complex against Mclaren? Personally I don't see any Mclaren fan caring about Honda anymore. Who hurt you so much?
I really believe the Mercedes is not much of an upgrade from Renault anymore. Now Renault has sorted their reliability problem, they are as good on Sunday and just slightly behind on Saturday. Ferrari would be and upgrade, but not gonna happen.
Besides that, they left Mercedes because it was not a works deal and it is proven Mercedes turns down their customer engines it the feel the need to do so.
