McLaren Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso will race in the 2017 Indianapolis 500, driving a McLaren-branded Honda-powered entry run by defending champions Andretti Autosport. The 35-year-old Spaniard cited multiple reasons for wanting to race at Indianapolis in a statement issued by McLaren-Honda this morning. Among them, his desire to emulate the late Graham Hill and become just the second driver to complete the Triple Crown of Motor racing. “I’ve won the Monaco Grand Prix twice, and it’s one of my ambitions to win theRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor McLaren has made headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2017, mostly due to their incredibly unreliable Honda supplied power units. The team did somewhat casually reach out to Mercedes about supplying them for the future, but for the time being they are under contract with Honda and are forced to make lemonade from lemons. The best long term strategy, one I have written about several times, would be for them to invest funds from McLaren automotive, their successful road car operation, into creating their ownRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Honda are aiming to bring an updated engine with increased power levels McLaren, with some positive gains made on the reliability front. Fernando Alonso ran a relatively trouble free day on Friday, finishing 12th in the second practice for the Australian Grand Prix. McLaren looked obviously down on horsepower to their competitors, but Honda revealed that work is being done to ensure a better power unit is in the plans, with the aim to bring is before June. Teams are set at moving to their secondRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief A relationship rekindled in 2015 saw strong potential last season with Honda and McLaren. The Woking-based team finished the year sixth in points, with two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso scoring as high as fifth twice en route to 10th in the driver’s championship. Jenson Button finished as high as sixth in Austria, but a lack of consistent pace relegated him to 15th overall. A wild offseason sees Button take a leave away from the sport for 2017 and he is set to be replaced byRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor According to a report from the BBC, McLaren has contacted Mercedes about an engine supply deal. Which means it is already looking at other partners after numerous failures in preseason testing with current supplier Honda. Despite an improvement to sixth in the constructor’s championship in 2016, and an optimistic re-branding in the off season, McLaren is set to begin the new season at the back of the pack. Honda which maintained it could find a fix for the problems encountered during testing and have it ready in timeRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief McLaren announced the return of Mika Hakkinen to the team in a multi-year deal as a ‘partner ambassador’ role. The two-time Formula 1 champion (1998-99) piloted 130 grand prix for the Woking-based outfit, scoring 20 wins. The 48-year-old Finn competed nine years under McLaren and expressed his pleased he was to return to his “home.” “I’ve always considered McLaren to be my home in Formula 1, and I still have an enormous place in my heart for everyone in the team,” said Hakkinen. “Of course, theRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Fernando Alonso is not happy. After just 6 days of pre-season testing, McLaren-Honda has had more power unit failures, changes, and technical problems than any other Formula One team and he is laying the blame squarely on Honda. With echoes of his “GP2 engine” remarks, the two time champ berated Honda when he spoke to the media today. “We have only one problem: that is the power unit. There is no reliability and there is no power. I think we are 30 km/h down on every straight.Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Fernando Alonso has admitted to F1i.com that the fate of his Formula 1 future will be decided at the break during the summer. The 35-year-old Spaniard is in the final year of his current contract with McLaren. Since jumping over from Ferrari at the end of 2014, the two-time world champion has struggled due in large part to the rebuilding process that has taken place in Woking and with engine supplier Honda. Although 2017 brings new regulation changes and hope that the MCL32 will be aRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief After weeks of speculation, McLaren have finally showcased its 2017 Formula 1 car, the MCL32, but have also brought with it an orange and black livery. The team put hints out through social media that it would revert back to its traditional color and is just one of many notable changes with the newest challenger to the F1 grid. The Woking-based outfit also elected to drop the ‘MP4’ standard – which stood for Marlboro Project Four – as it has now moved away from the eraRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor After Red Bull Racing pinched ExxonMobil from McLaren Honda in the off-season, the refreshed team from Woking has joined Renault in selecting BP and Castrol as their fuel and lubricant supplier from 2017 on. The move not only means that BP and Castrol are supplying two teams this season, but also that Red Bull and Renault will be using different fuel suppliers for the same engines. It will be fascinating to see which oil company gives their team an edge as power units will be evenRead More