McLaren with the Honda engine in Abu Dhabi?
McLaren is considering testing the Honda engine during the last private tests of the year, following the final Formula 1 race in 2014, in Abu Dhabi.
Honda will become McLaren’s new engine supplier for next season. In theory, McLaren can test its engine before the first preseason test ahead of the 2015 F1 season, as there are no restrictions on engines for the 2014 tests. The problem for the Woking-based team is that they will still be under contract with Mercedes until the end of the season.
The race director, Éric Boullier, spoke on the sidelines of the Spanish Grand Prix by confirming that McLaren was considering using a Honda power unit after the final event of the 2014 championship: “We have thought about it,” indicated the Mayennais. “In fact, we are currently with the Mercedes engine but beyond the event in Abu Dhabi, it is not planned to be used for anything else. We have planned to try with the Honda engine afterwards.”
Honda and McLaren will be engaged, from 2015 until the end of the 2016 season, in an exclusive partnership. The 2014 season is the twentieth and last of the partnership between the British team and Mercedes, crowned with three world champion drivers’ titles (with Mika Hakkinen in 1998 and 1999 and with Lewis Hamilton in 2008) and a constructors’ title in 1998.
