Originally Posted by Forza Ferrari:
“You would think Mclaren would share the worst engine on the grid. Especialy since all year they have been saying they have the best car and are the fastest round all the corners it's just the engine holding them back.”
They've got everything to lose and little to gain.
McLaren enticed Honda back into F1 on the basis that they're never going to beat factory teams with a customer engine.
If Red Bull do better than McLaren with a Honda PU then there's a good chance Honda are going to end up "partnering" Red Bull and McLaren will be back to being merely a customer again.
I can see why Ron Dennis might feel that's a bit unfair after he went to all the effort of getting Honda back into F1 but the fact that he's worried about it suggests a lack of faith in his own design team.
McLaren and Honda are currently both in a rather awkward position.
Honda knows that their PU is a bit weak so they're forced to accept the criticism they get from McLaren.
There is surely going to come a point, though, where it becomes apparent that the Honda PU is fit for purpose and McLaren NEED to have a good car ready for when that time comes.
Their excuses about how the PU is holding them back are going to look rather weak when/if the time comes that Mercedes and Ferrari cars can't pass a McLaren on the straights without DRS.
Personally, I think McLaren are quietly quite relieved that they can blame all their current problems on the engine.
I don't think they've designed an especially good car in the last decade and they've got worse in the last 5 or 6 years. Much worse.
It'd be an amazing coincidence if they really HAD miraculously built a superb car this year and it was only the PU which was holding them back.