Honda: Nothing is decided regarding McLaren F1 drivers for 2015
As rumors circulate about a possible McLaren-Honda announcement regarding the drivers for 2015 at Suzuka, during the Japanese Grand Prix, the Japanese firm states that nothing has been decided.
Honda will be McLaren’s engine supplier next season. On the occasion of the Japanese Grand Prix, the company has already presented a first 3D rendering of its V6 turbo hybrid engine and is expected to release a video that will give a preview of the sound of this power unit.
The other issue on which Honda and McLaren are being watched is that of the drivers. Persistent rumors suggest Fernando Alonso is headed to Woking, and some have hinted that an announcement could take place at Suzuka this weekend.
Yasuhisa Arai, head of competition at Honda, wanted to indicate that a decision had not been made and that an announcement on the matter was unlikely: “We are in constant discussion about the drivers we would like to have, and since McLaren is here in Japan, it is only natural for us to arrange some meetings. But I don’t think we will discuss the drivers since nothing is decided,” he said to Sky Sports.
If Jenson Button is expected to continue the McLaren adventure in 2015, Kevin Magnussen seems threatened for the moment as his team is reportedly looking to recruit another top driver. The Dane indicated that the British team was his only option for the upcoming season.
McLaren is currently 6th in the Constructors’ Championship, overtaken notably by the Force India team. If things stayed as they are, it would be the team’s worst ranking since 1981 (in 2007, McLaren was excluded from the team standings after the spying affair). When asked if the switch from the Mercedes engine to the Honda engine could help the team return to the top, Y. Arai responds: « Obviously, there are multiple reasons to explain the performance we have seen from McLaren this season. So, based on these experiences, we are making efforts to move forward. »
