Official: McLaren with Renault and Toro Rosso with Honda in 2018

The cascade of announcements continues in the Singapore paddock. Many decisions concerning the 2018 season are now finalized, including those regarding the engines of two teams at the center of attention: McLaren and Toro Rosso.

What had been brewing for many months in Woking is now official. The dreadful relations between Honda and McLaren will end in 2018. The Japanese engine supplier is leaving the British team to find refuge with Toro Rosso: “Everyone at Honda is looking forward to working with Toro Rosso, and we are excited to start this new chapter in our Formula 1 journey with them. I would like to express our gratitude to Liberty Media and the FIA for their cooperation in making this partnership a reality. Honda and Toro Rosso will work as a single team to strive for progress and success together,” says Takahiro Hachigo, the President of Honda’s sports section, not without a slight dig at McLaren.

On the Woking side, it is with great pleasure that the Honda chapter is closed and a new engine partner is welcomed with joy, namely Renault: Renault is a manufacturer that, like McLaren, has Formula 1 deeply woven into its DNA. It introduced the turbo concept to modern F1 in 1977, won Grand Prix races with and without turbo, and has been a consistent pioneer and developer of new technologies in Formula 1. And while a McLaren Renault is a new and exciting concept in Formula 1, what is most important is that this partnership gives us the opportunity to compete on an equal footing with the other Renault teams. At McLaren, we have the motivation, the desire, and the resource to be a competitive force in 2018, and now the power of Renault allows us to take a significant step forward on the grid. Today’s announcement opens a new chapter in McLaren’s history that we are eager to begin,” said Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, Executive Director of McLaren.

At Toro Rosso, the prospect of welcoming Honda in 2018 is not daunting, despite the meager results achieved by the engine manufacturer since its return to Formula 1: « It’s a very exciting challenge and I hope that both parties will achieve great success as we develop together. Honda has a long history in Formula 1, dating back to 1964 when it first entered the sport with its own team and as an engine supplier, they have won five world drivers’ championships and six constructors’ championships. This heritage, along with the full confidence we have in Honda’s capabilities to succeed, makes me firmly believe that we will achieve a fruitful future together,” emphasizes Franz Tost, the team principal of the Faenza-based team.

But the negotiations of this entanglement between Renault, McLaren, Toro Rosso, and Honda were not simple, far from it. The French engine manufacturer was reluctant to equip a new team and thus put pressure on the strong men of Red Bull to acquire one of their drivers, namely Daniel Ricciardo, in exchange for abandoning their partnership with Toro Rosso. With the untransferable Australian, Renault set its sights on Carlos Sainz and thus secured the loan of the Spaniard for 2018, leaving Toro Rosso free to engage with Honda.

In the end, the French engine manufacturer is not unhappy with its new partnership with McLaren: We are happy to confirm a new partnership between Renault and McLaren Racing and eager to launch this new relationship between these two historic Formula 1 brands that will cooperate for the first time. This agreement perfectly aligns with our mid-term strategy and our goal of being in a winning position in 2020. We look forward to seeing the Renault logo on next year’s McLaren and to steering our new partners in the right direction. McLaren is an inspiring team with two talented drivers who should not only support our engine development efforts but also serve as a benchmark and example in the ongoing construction of our chassis operations. It’s an exciting challenge with a championship-winning team hungry to return to glory. concludes Cyril Abiteboul, the Sporting Director of the brand with the diamond.