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Canadian GP Worsens Relationship Between McLaren and Honda
The termination of contract between McLaren and Honda seems imminent after breakdown at Canadian GP.
The Canadian Grand Prix that took place on 11th June just appeared to make things much worse for the already worsening relationship between Woking based McLaren and its engine supplier, Honda.
McLaren's driver Fernando Alonso has said that the speeds at which the cars tailgating the McLaren-Hondas close in on them are dangerous. More than the danger that Alonso was talking about, this statement showcases just how slow the Honda-powered cars are.
The highest speed of Alonso's car recorded by speed traps at the end of the straights at the Montreal circuit was 317km/h, and that of his team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne's car was 330km/h (Might have been assisted by DRS). Whereas, the Ferrari driven by Sebastian Vettel clocked 342km/h.
The 25km/h difference between Alonso and Vettel is big enough to possibly cause an accident, and always gives room for easy overtakes. This difference in speed did cause an accident during the Spanish Grand Prix last month at Catalunya.
The incident is the one that happened on lap 36 when McLaren-Honda's Stoffel Vandoorne was ahead of Williams Martini's Felipe Massa by a healthy margin. All Formula One Cars accelerate and decelerate with almost the same pace, and it was logically right of Vandoorne to think that the line at the end of the pit straight was his and that Massa would not be able to make a move on him there.
However, Massa had caught up with Vandoorne by the end of the straight and took the inner line which Vandoorne wanted. This resulted in a crash, which left Vandoorne's McLaren with broken steering and suspension, causing him to retire from the race.
Other than slow speeds, McLaren also has the Honda power unit's reliability to deal with. The team lost the chance to score their first points of the season when Alonso's McLaren-Honda gave up just two laps before the finish.
With all these issues in Mind, McLaren is now firm in their approach to terminate the contract with Honda. Formula One insiders and Enthusiasts are of the opinion that McLaren would be ready to do anything to terminate their contract with the Japanese Automotive giant.
McLaren is the second oldest team in Formula One today, and have 182 race wins, 12 drivers' championships and eight constructors' championships to their name. Before their contract with Honda in 2015, McLaren had a deal with Mercedes-Benz as their engine suppliers.
It is indeed disheartening to see McLaren and Honda break apart, as this was a Formidable team in the late 80s and early 90s with champions like Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost winning championships in McLaren cars powered by Honda Engines. Well, it does seem like, the same formula does not work always.
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