McLaren will need time to build the partnership with Renault
In an interview, McLaren team director Éric Boullier talks about the future partnership between the Woking-based team and engine supplier Renault.
According to Eric Boullier, executive director of the British team, the partnership between McLaren and Renault will take some time before allowing the team to catch up with the leading teams on the Formula 1 grid. At least, that’s what he claims to the Spanish newspaper Marca in an interview: « If you have a ten-year relationship with a partner, you obviously have a different relationship with them than if you are just starting this partnership. But we are building this relationship now. It will take some time, but we are motivated to do our best. We are McLaren, we exist to win, so we will do everything to achieve it. »
While Fernando Alonso has not yet renewed his contract with the British team for the 2018 season, the Frenchman believes that McLaren will be able to win one or more races next season, just as Red Bull has managed to do with the same Renault engine.
The former director of the Lotus team claims that this engine partnership with the diamond brand will allow McLaren to use Red Bull as a reference to verify the effectiveness of the entire chassis-engine package: « If you have the whole package, which means a good engine, the best car, the staff, and the right drivers, you must win. For us, the pressure is therefore the same. If another team has the same engine and you don’t beat them, then you know there’s a problem with the rest of the package. »
We will therefore have to wait for the coming weeks to find out if Fernando Alonso will indeed be part of the McLaren Renault adventure (which seems highly likely) alongside Stoffel Vandoorne, who has already extended his contract. But to see the result of this unprecedented partnership, we will have to wait until the first race of the 2018 season, which will provide us with the first real information about the success of the association.
