13-07-2017, 16:05
http://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/40570984
What about Alonso and McLaren?
Fernando Alonso with team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne
"Wait a minute. Your engine is working?!?!" Fernando Alonso with team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne
Towards the back, three of F1's biggest names remain mired in a fog of poor performance and recriminations, as Honda's return to the sport continues to underwhelm and McLaren and Fernando Alonso suffer as a result.
The McLaren is a good car - how else can one explain Alonso qualifying seventh in Spain, one of the tracks so far where the engine is least important in the overall picture and where good aerodynamics are rewarded?
But Honda's engine is nearly 90bhp down on the Mercedes, and that's the sort of deficit for which no amount of car performance or driver talent can make up.
The stats say the McLaren-Honda is the second slowest car in F1, ahead only of struggling Sauber, so Alonso's average qualifying position of 12.9 says a lot for his enduring qualities, as do some of the race performances he has dragged out of the car this year before its almost-guaranteed failure.
It is highly likely Alonso will take the latest in a long line of engine-related grid penalties and start from the back at Silverstone, a track that exposes the deficiencies of Honda's hybrid recovery and deployment because of the minimal amount of braking around the lap. So it could be another dispiriting weekend. Hungary, where the car should be a dead cert for a top 10 place on the grid, might provide some relief a fortnight later.
Grid places lost per engine supplier through engine-related penalties so far in 2017
Grid places lost per engine supplier through engine-related penalties so far in 2017
But that will not change the general disposition at McLaren, where patience with Honda has run out and where - quietly, behind the scenes - moves are afoot to force a separation, and a switch to Mercedes customer engines for 2018.
No one is saying much publicly, but the mood music is that the pieces are all being put in place for that to happen before the end of the summer.
It might be a questionable move long-term - it is hard to win regularly with a customer engine when the company supplying it has their own team - but there is no denying the short-term logic. It might even persuade Alonso to stay. And as long as McLaren can produce another good car, Alonso in a McLaren-Mercedes could cause some trouble for the front-runners in 2018.
The Spaniard's rookie team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, meanwhile, was highly touted but has been a disappointment so far, struggling to get near the Spaniard, although there have been hints of progress in recent races. The Belgian needs to up his game or his future at McLaren might become significantly less secure than he believes or the team are saying.
What about Alonso and McLaren?
Fernando Alonso with team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne
"Wait a minute. Your engine is working?!?!" Fernando Alonso with team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne
Towards the back, three of F1's biggest names remain mired in a fog of poor performance and recriminations, as Honda's return to the sport continues to underwhelm and McLaren and Fernando Alonso suffer as a result.
The McLaren is a good car - how else can one explain Alonso qualifying seventh in Spain, one of the tracks so far where the engine is least important in the overall picture and where good aerodynamics are rewarded?
But Honda's engine is nearly 90bhp down on the Mercedes, and that's the sort of deficit for which no amount of car performance or driver talent can make up.
The stats say the McLaren-Honda is the second slowest car in F1, ahead only of struggling Sauber, so Alonso's average qualifying position of 12.9 says a lot for his enduring qualities, as do some of the race performances he has dragged out of the car this year before its almost-guaranteed failure.
It is highly likely Alonso will take the latest in a long line of engine-related grid penalties and start from the back at Silverstone, a track that exposes the deficiencies of Honda's hybrid recovery and deployment because of the minimal amount of braking around the lap. So it could be another dispiriting weekend. Hungary, where the car should be a dead cert for a top 10 place on the grid, might provide some relief a fortnight later.
Grid places lost per engine supplier through engine-related penalties so far in 2017
Grid places lost per engine supplier through engine-related penalties so far in 2017
But that will not change the general disposition at McLaren, where patience with Honda has run out and where - quietly, behind the scenes - moves are afoot to force a separation, and a switch to Mercedes customer engines for 2018.
No one is saying much publicly, but the mood music is that the pieces are all being put in place for that to happen before the end of the summer.
It might be a questionable move long-term - it is hard to win regularly with a customer engine when the company supplying it has their own team - but there is no denying the short-term logic. It might even persuade Alonso to stay. And as long as McLaren can produce another good car, Alonso in a McLaren-Mercedes could cause some trouble for the front-runners in 2018.
The Spaniard's rookie team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, meanwhile, was highly touted but has been a disappointment so far, struggling to get near the Spaniard, although there have been hints of progress in recent races. The Belgian needs to up his game or his future at McLaren might become significantly less secure than he believes or the team are saying.
Fernando es de otro planeta