![]() ![]() The switch to Renault was desperately needed by the team but it is not necessarily the solution. In their favour, however, their chassis does appear strong and with some decent horses they can at least target challenging Red Bull, subject to having to alter their car to the architecture of the Renault engine.Īll of which does promise improvement even if the race wins Alonso desires may be some way off, Boullier’s five-year prediction is instructive. The power unit switch alone will not put McLaren on the front of the grid. The Renault engine is the third best on the grid this season – they are bringing a new concept to the 2018 iteration but it will have to go some to challenge Mercedes and Ferrari. Thanks to the shareholders who have been brave enough to take a sporting choice and not hurt McLaren.” “With a top engine I think we would be fourth right now and just on the FOM money we could cover the engine side, so it will not be a big risk on the monetary side. “We are ninth in the championship,” said Boullier. Better results mean more prize money and more sponsors. This would, it is hoped, kickstart the cycle of recovery. Brown has been explicit that the team’s Bahraini owners are unafraid of backing them and have the financial muscle to do so.Įqually at the factory in Woking they have the resources, numbers and experience to put that backing to good use. But nonetheless financially they do not have to worry in the short-term. The team will take a huge hit commercially from dropping Honda – understood to be around $100m (£74m) a year, a blow exacerbated by a lack of sponsors and poor finishes resulting in a drop in prize money. By ditching Honda he has made the first step to improving them but the difficult job lies ahead. ![]() McLaren’s executive director, Zak Brown, who took over at the end of last year, told me early in the season he should be judged by the team’s results. He, at least, has put a reasonable timescale on it, as opposed to Honda, who said in Singapore they expected their new partnership with Toro Rosso would put them into the top three, a singularly spectacular failure in managing expectations. And with this bouncing back we get our credibility back and it will rebuild our sponsor portfolio. ![]() “In the next five years I am absolutely sure that we will go back to where McLaren belongs. “You have to take the long-term view,” he added. “When you look at the last three years it’s been a proper disaster for us in terms of credibility and getting new sponsors,” he said.īoullier, however, shared Alonso’s optimism. On Wednesday the team’s racing director, Éric Boullier, was blunt about the failed partnership. ![]()
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