As things stand in the Formula 1 paddock late tonight in Singapore, the much rumoured deal, and very badly kept secret, between McLaren and Toro Rosso to basically swap engine suppliers seems to be confirmed in every way possible, save for the official announcement.
With a joint announcement set to be made either just before or during tomorrow's FIA presser, just what are the implications for the teams and their new engine suppliers?
Clearly the move should put a smile on Toro Rosso owner Dietrich Mateschitz's face for the first time in a long while. No longer will he be forking out cash for engines for one of his two F1 teams…and quite possibly the second from 2019.
In fact, sources close to the deal have inferred that not only do the Honda engines come free and with their own technicians, but also with an annual stipend of upwards 1.6b Yen (or $15m for the rest of us) for each of the three years of the initial contract.
This, coupled with FOM prize money and existing outside sponsors, may actually allow the Faenza based team to break-even financially for the first time, and take away the semi-permanent "For Sale" sign that seems to have hung over the squad for the past few years.
Renault meanwhile will now have a very hungry McLaren team as their new customer. And while in all likelihood they may be beaten by the Woking squad, with reliability and performance clearly superior to that of the current Honda engines, they may not get criticised as much as they have been for the last few years by Red Bull…
Clearly this will be a win/win situation for McLaren, Honda, Toro Rosso, Renault, and F1’s new owners Liberty Media as they are set to retain the Japanese auto giant in the sport that only has four proper manufacturers still involved.
Just how the story will be spun by the teams’ press officers will be intriguing as not only does the deal involve engines but also the loan of Red Bull contracted driver Carlos Sainz Jr. to Enstone. While sources close to the Spaniard’s camp have confirmed that he will be driving for Renault next year, nothing so far has been agreed for the remainder of this year.
Despite current Renault driver Jolyon Palmer having a firm contract for the remainder of 2017, Renault are desperate to finish higher than their current eighth in the standings. With only 21 points separating them and fifth placed Williams, having a driver of Sainz’s capabilities alongside Nico Hülkenberg makes the deal a no-brainier for the Enstone team.
Just how this will be achieved is still a guessing game but it’s pretty clear that Renault will be doing the math and working out how much it could be worth in additional FOM prize money versus how much it will take to buy Palmer out of his current contract!
Clearly more to this deal than two teams just changing engine suppliers…
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