McLaren To Switch Back To Honda Power?

Rumors linking McLaren and Honda have resurfaced within the Formula 1 paddock, amid speculation over future engine suppliers once the sport enters the new era of engine regulations in 2014. Next year, the sport will introduce turbo-charged V6s with energy recovery systems, replacing the current specification.

After leaving the sport in 2008 due to the uncompetitive results of its F1 team, Honda decided to pull the plug on its continuation in the sport. This proved a bad decision, as the outfit was then rebranded as Brawn GP and stormed to a sensational Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship campaign with Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. However, the recent rumors have suggested that the Japanese marque would only return as a supplier and not as a standalone outfit.

Currently there are four engine suppliers in Formula 1 with Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Cosworth. Next season it is understood that Cosworth will not design a 2014-spec engine for Marussia, which is expected to force the Banbury-based outfit to opt for another engine supplier. Due to the team’s recent appointment of Jules Bianchi, many expect the Anglo-Russian outfit to enter a partnership with Ferrari in 2014.

However, such a partnership is understandably unthinkable for McLaren, with the two teams’ rivalry stretching back several decades in the sport. A switch to Renault engines is also out of the question, with the French marque currently supplying reigning Champions Red Bull and openly against providing for further teams’ on the grid. This leaves only Mercedes, McLaren’s current and long-standing engine supplier, however the marque is understandably eager to direct all major development to the works team, especially with the recent appointment of McLaren protege Lewis Hamilton.

This has therefore sparked recurring rumors that McLaren could enter a new partnership with Honda, one which brought both outfits’ huge successes throughout the late-80s and early-90s when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost drove for McLaren. Last month Honda added fuel to the rumor mill by stating they were pondering a return to Formula 1 as an engine supplier once again. Should McLaren strike the deal with Honda, this could see them end up as the sole team supplied by the Japanese marque, unless Marussia opt to strengthen their McLaren partnership and use Honda engines as well.

However, McLaren’s team principal Martin Whitmarsh has since played down the rumors linking the Woking-based outfit to Honda power in the future, stating that McLaren are contracted to Mercedes until 2015. Although Martin Whitmarsh has denied a future with Honda, he does believe further engine suppliers are required in F1.

“What I can tell you is we have a contract with a long-standing partner, Mercedes-Benz, for 2013, 2014 and 2015,” explained Martin Whitmarsh to Sky Sports F1’s Natalie Pinkham. “So we have a contract, they’re our partners and we’re going to try and win World Championships and races with them. We’ve got a good and long-standing commitment to Mercedes-Benz, that’s what we’re focused on right now.

“In the longer term who knows what’s going to happen? We’re delighted to be partnering Mercedes-Benz. They’ve done, certainly in the last few years, a fantastic job and we’ve won a lot of races together and we’re going to try and win quite a few more in the next few years.”

McLaren’s future in terms of an engine supplier will unquestionably remain a hot topic within the paddock, especially as such a partnership sparks a nostalgia within many who remember the glory days of Prost and Senna. However, it will be interesting to see a McLaren powered by Mercedes battling towards the front of the grid alongside the Mercedes works team in recent years to come.

Picture Copyright © McLaren F1 Team