McLaren are set for an engine upgrade from Honda at the forthcoming Austrian Grand Prix according to Yusuke Hasegawa, who revealed that the third specification power unit will make its debut at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.
McLaren set for Honda engine update in Austria
With this engine upgrade coming, it is without doubt that both Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne will once again face a flurry of grid penalties in Austria, with the McLaren pair facing grid penalties worth over 70 positions between them last time out in Azerbaijan.
Despite the penalties that the pair faced, McLaren did manage to finish inside the points for the first time this season, with Fernando Alonso securing two points through ninth place.
In response to McLaren’s first points of the season, sporting director, Eric Boullier, stated: “Mathematically it’s good for the team to have some results. But I’m not smiling, I’m not excited. It’s not the reason why I’m racing. And especially not racing with McLaren.”
The announcement of this engine update for the Austrian Grand Prix follows the reports that McLaren could be splitting up with Honda for 2018, with the Woking-based team reportedly closing in on a deal with Mercedes as their engine supplier for next season although a temporary break from Honda could occur.
“On paper it’s a good strategy,” said Boullier. “If you can run a [different] engine for the time being until Honda is competitive, then why not? This is one of the various scenarios we may have considered.”
A possible switch in engine suppliers could also act as a final attempt to retain Alonso at the team in 2018, with the double world champion’s contract running out with McLaren at the end of this season and the Spaniard’s management team reportedly in talks with Mercedes and Renault for next year.
Main Photo
