There was a lot going on behind the scenes during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. Up and down the paddock rumour was rife with one story after the other…
The vast majority of the rumours and conspiracy theories revolved around Honda and their continued involvement in Formula 1 next year. If you are to believe the rumours, McLaren will soon be announcing their divorce with the Japanese auto giant and Yusuke Hasegawa and his merry band of engineers will be on their way to Faenza to link up with Toro Rosso next year…
Or will they..?
To be, or not to be; that is the question!
To borrow from the Bard sums up Honda’s position in a nutshell. Rather than asking who they will be supplying next year, perhaps the actual question is, “Will Honda even be in Formula 1 next year?”
And clearly the iconic company that has had such a chequered past in Formula 1, with both success and multiple failures, must be asking themselves, “Why do we need to create so many problems for ourselves?” After all, they have hardly captured any headlines that would warrant framing in their boardrooms across their two forays into F1 since the turn of the century, both as a team owner and now again as an engine supplier.
Why on earth would they even consider supplying engines to Toro Rosso next year let alone even consider buying the second string Red Bull squad from team owner Dietrich Mateschitz? In either scenario they would be starting again from scratch. It’s surely too late to even consider a supply agreement as Red Bull Technology will have by now ensured that at least the basic layout of next year’s STR13 (or will that be 14) will have been agreed and that the lump in the back will surely emanate from Viry Chattilon and not Sakura…
And at the same time, those hacks who are predicting that Reggie will just ‘jump-into-bed’ with McLaren are fantasists in my humble opinion. Why on earth would they supply the Woking squad who now have a history of falling out with engine suppliers? Even though it was more than 30 years ago, French memories are long and Renault will most surely remember the McLaren-Peugeot arrangement that was quickly discarded when more powerful and reliable Mercedes engines were available!
And why would Renault want to upset the apple cart when they have a contractual agreement with Red Bull, albeit that the engines in the main team are Tag Heuer badged, to supply two teams next year. Personally, I can’t see Christian Horner agreeing to Renault supplying another squad who could potentially be fighting for the top six places on the grid and it wouldn’t surprise me if there wasn’t some sort of clause in the Red Bull / Renault agreement that allowed Red Bull some input as to who else could be supplied Renault engines, at least for the first couple of years!
No, right now I think that there are some very worried people in the MTC, worried about whether they will even have an engine supplier next year or not. Sure, the anticipated fourth generation Honda engine is finally expected to be on par with at least the Renault power unit but will Honda be prepared to commit to staying in the game for the long run after three years or pain and suffering?
Yes, the signs do look like the Japanese engineers have turned a corner. Perhaps they have at long last taken the help offered by McLaren and their technology boffins to help with the engine’s basic electrical architecture that has been so lacking to date. And yes, this weekend both cars looked by far the best of the rest with Alonso coming home in sixth, although if both the Red Bulls had finished this would have been seventh. But that is still great progress for both McLaren and Honda.
Whether or not this long awaited high, just before the summer recess, is enough to convince Hasegawa San to renew the lease on his Milton Keynes flat, I don’t know. But what I do think is that the story when we reassemble in Spa Francorchamps in four weeks time will be, “Is Honda staying (with McLaren) or are they going home?”
