The wheels coming off McLaren

It seems Ron Dennis is chewing out Alonso about his slam of the Honda engine in Japan and Jensen's threat to quit last week was has become a public way of saying he doesn't want to run the last of his career in a non-competitive car.

There's a good chance that McLaren could lose (or push out) 2 drivers, have no major sponsor, and be stuck with a non-competitive Engine next year.

Basically Ron is saying they each have a contract but each is saying they are thinking of going.

Pretty tough words from the Guardian here on McLaren's performance: "Humiliated"

Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso denials humiliate shambolic McLaren | Sport | The Guardian

McLaren’s Formula One team were humiliated at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday as they claimed their two world champions, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, would be with them next year – only to have this immediately questioned by the bemused drivers.

Alonso and Button again failed to score a point between them, finishing 11th and 16th, with the former criticizing the Honda power unit on the team radio. But an hour before the race started Ron Dennis, the McLaren Group’s chairman and chief executive, confirmed that both Button, who has another year left on his contract, and Alonso, who has two, would be staying with the struggling team who are bracketed with Manor at the bottom of the constructors’ championship.

Dennis, who arrived late in Suzuka after being confined to his Tokyo hotel room with a virus, said: “Jenson has a two-year contract [including this year] and we are not changing. He will be in a McLaren next year, as far as I am concerned, and as far as he is concerned at this moment in time.” He then confirmed that Alonso, too, would remain at the team.

After the race and when pressed by Sky Sports on whether Button and Alonso would be staying, he said: “Yes, yes, yes. What is simpler than they’ve all got contracts, everyone has to live by their contracts, why don’t you just leave it at that?”

However, also speaking after the race, Button denied that his mind was made up. “You’ll have to wait and see,” he said. “I’m not going to comment on something that I don’t know the future on.” And he suggested Dennis had made a pre-emptive judgment after talks that took place on Thursday and again at the track before the race.

Meanwhile, when Alonso was asked if he would be in Formula One next year he replied: “I don’t know.” He had already upset McLaren and Honda by being critical during the race. He described the power unit as “a GP2” engine and said it was “embarrassing” when passed by the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson.

After he was told about that incident, an angry Dennis said: “I am not going to condone those sorts of things, because it doesn’t show the professionalism that I would like all our drivers to show. Maybe it was not a particularly constructive way to communicate with everyone at Honda.”

McLaren, without a title sponsor since 2013, after losing Vodafone, and who will be another £20m worse off next year after Johnnie Walker and Santander withdrew their backing, are hoping to announce a new sponsor in the next few weeks. But fresh deals will be difficult to strike with their team a shambles, and their drivers uncertain whether they are staying.

 

These kinds of contract couldn't stop Ron Dennis to let Nigel Mansell or Michael Andretti leave, or even ... Fernando Alonso 8 years ago.

Contracts can be renegotiated, bought, even terminated.

Obviously Ron Dennis is attempting some damage limitation, as we can expect from him, but the atmosphere at McLaren-Honda isn't brilliant.

It's shocking to see a once-dominating team being reduced to back of the field participation. On top of that, McLaren has two top jockeys to drive its uncompetitive cars.

 

Until the obdurate dinosaur jumps or is pushed this will continue. If I can adapt an Einstein-ism continuing under the same leadership doing and saying the same old things is insanity. Clearly both Jenson and Fernando know it.

 

Agreed.

Some of my favorite past races were times when Ferrari and McLaren were fighting with each other at the front. Sadly, the foreseeable future doesn't offer the possibility of a competitive McLaren. It looks impossible to turn the situation around with unmotivated and expensive drivers, an engine that is only just managing to finish a full GP (albeit lapped), and sponsors deserting them in droves.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

They just need a power unit. IMO, the car is not that bad. Honda has clearly not mastered the energy recovery systems yet (and neither has Renault).

I doubt there will be much between the combustion engines, its all in the hybrid part.....

 

Why don't they junk the bleeding edge hybrid solution that has failed them this year and revert to a more proven architecture? Is this allowed in the rules, or are they stuck with having to make their current solution work?

 

Is there such a thing as a "more proven architecture?"

As I understand it they are recovering energy from multiple sources including the engine and the Turbo. I think Honda have put the turbo right in the middle of the V - its all about the packaging - & that seems to be a recipe for troupe to me. They have a number of development tokens available that govern what changes they can make. Its very (too)complicated but clearly there are limits to how much they can re-engineer the thing.

 

Of course drivers are frustated. But the engine was crap at the beginning of the season, it is frozen and they can´t test, so unless the laws of thermodynamic suddenly reverse and magically crap mutates in gold, the engine will stay crap.

I don´t know if they can fix their engine or they have to switch to something more conventional, but one way or another I´m sure they´ll do a big leap next season. If not, then it´ll be time to panic, but right now they have no other option than relax and hang in there.

 

Their desire for a tight rear end doesn't work on cars-only women. Seriously they tried to package things in an innovative way and it simply isn't working.

 

Honda will not pull out of f1 after three years. I said that late last year and now I believe honda might walk away early next year

 

I believe Honda is in it to win it. Ron and Honda have no other choice right now. Too much to throw away on a couple of bad seasons. They'll get it right eventually.

I also think Nando will stay at McLaren and retire from there. Look at Nando and Ferrari- all those years and nothing came together until he left. If Nando leaves McLaren and it comes together after he leaves, then what (about nando's career)? I think he wants to end his career on a high note. If he didn't, he wouldn't outwardly express frustration to Honda management in front of the world. He cares and wants.

 

+1

Having said that, I'm pretty surprised at just how bad they are right now. They're obviously throwing *huge* bucks at the problem, but dear oh dear!

+1

It's looking like they'll both be back, at least next season. Fred should probably not wear his heart on his sleeve quite so much, but that just seems to be his nature.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Yes - refer to Merc and Ferrari. Both have very different hybrid solutions to Honda with Mercs being more sophisticated than Ferrari's but less exotic than Honda's. A long time ago, this topic was debated at length and it was thought that Honda had gone for the most bleeding edge PU architecture possible knowing it would be unreliable to begin with, but would offer potentially greater rewards if it could be perfected. Here we are at the tail end of the season and their architecture is under powered, and less fuel efficient than everybody else's - as well as being the least reliable. So basically, its crap… Hence the reason for asking if they can change track or if they are stuck with it. It may be that they simply can't overcome the shortcomings full stop. If this is the case, I would expect Honda to exit stage left.

 

Next year will be the breaking point for Alonso & Jenson...if that car is still crap, then I think an imminent implosion by either driver will be a certainty.

 

As far as I've read Honda are in a similar situation to Ferrari were last year. They made an architectural mistake that requires an overhaul. Ferrari were able to turn it around over winter. Hopefully Honda can too.

 

Well in Button's case, said contract includes a significant rise in pay next year, which if reports are to be believed Ron and Co. are saying they can't give him. That constitutes material breach and is an open door for JB to walk away with head held high.

 

2016 will be a make or break season for Honda. Period.

 

Whatever the outcome, it will be difficult to erase the 2015 disaster year!

It has shown that Honda isn't allmighty at all .

A lot of adverse publicity there ...

 

If a sponsorless McLaren is in financial difficulty, they can view their contracts with Buttton and Alonso as assets, much as a tenant with a long term lease views the lease as an asset. In order to keep the team on a stable financial footing, McLaren could sell Alonso and/or Button to another team or permit either driver to buy his way out. McLaren might well be better off with extra cash and marginal drivers as opposed to great drivers and no capital.

 

Or, he could seek to enforce specific performance and go out with a big check or an significant settlement and his head held high.

 

Big blow! Tag Heuer to leave McLaren for Red Bull

 

Yes, I just read about this. I have to say it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, McLaren's dismal season aside. Red Bull is hardly a luxury brand in any sense, and its own F1 future appears to be at least as compromised as McLaren's. Seems odd, but who knows what the real factor....$£€....is?

 

So Mansour Ojjeh is out?

 

So after 30 years of ups and downs, successes and failures, TAG has completely lost confidence in McLaren. Sad times at McLaren. How long can the company survive?

 

I see this as the first step towards Red Bull/Honda. Tag and Honda are already also partners in selling planes.