After a few years of missed podiums, the McLaren team and their new engine sponsor Honda, opened their 2015 season by unveiling their MP4-30 challenger online Thursday morning.
The team itself, has not found a major sponsor in two years following the exit of the British telecom company Vodafone, who departed in 2013. But this does not make much difference, as the team still has plenty of funding, keeping Jenson Button for another two seasons and grabbing former Ferrari driver, Fernando Alonso, who returns back to the team after seven seasons away.
For Alonso himself, it is a chance to make himself great again, but the breaking in of the new Japanese engine might be a problem at first, but the Spaniard feels it will work out eventually.
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“Of course, we’re prepared for a steep learning curve, but it’s clear to see that inside McLaren-Honda there’s total commitment, and a real change in feeling, as we start this new partnership.” Alonso replied to ESPN F1. “We’re all focused on the challenge ahead, and I feel extremely honored to be part of a relationship that has shared so much history together. My aim is to help write a new chapter in the history of McLaren-Honda. We understand the effort and teamwork required to take McLaren-Honda back to where it should be, at the front of the grid, and all our energy as a team is focused on that goal.
“Although the winter period is a time for rest and relaxation from racing, my motivation could not be stronger for the new season. I’ve done a lot of training during the winter break, to reach my peak physical fitness, and I’ve been working hard in preparation for this new era of McLaren-Honda. I’ve never felt better, or more ready for a new season.”
Button not only had to wait weeks to see if his position became reality, but also knew that backing from Honda, who he won his first grand prix race with in Hungary, along with his close friendship with Alonso, might have turned the tide in his favor.
“This car is very different then the last two years.” Button said. “I know that the mechanics are happy quite working on it, and they say that everything on it just works and it feels like just one full package. People have a good vibe about where the car is. Obviously there is a lot of work to do, and testing is very important and we have less experience than the other engine manufacturers but it is going to be a tough winter testing program and we are going to get a lot of experience. The good thing about Honda is that they are going to listen to what you have to say as far as driver’s feedback.”
The strange thing about this team is it is still unknown how the engine will perform, after only giving it a couple of laps back in December. But Chairman Ron Dennis is confident that the Japanese manufacturer will return the team back to its winning ways.
“McLaren Technology Group is driven by the relentless pursuit of technological perfection, and, perhaps more than any other element of our portfolio, Formula One, which is the remit and responsibility of McLaren Racing, and now McLaren-Honda, most famously epitomizes that,” Dennis said.
“McLaren-Honda is a partnership focused on performance, technology and innovation, and there’s no better example of that than the results achieved in our first collaboration in the 1980s and 1990s. I was Team Principal all those years ago and, while I don’t tend to like looking back to the past, our previous record of sustained success was certainly instrumental in creating the confidence to make the decision to partner with Honda again. Now, there’s real hunger to demonstrate the capabilities of the huge talent pool we share between us, and I’m totally committed to driving progress and achieving further success.
“Although our renewed alliance began again many months ago, the launch of the McLaren-Honda MP4-30 marks the start of a lengthy journey. We’ve come a long way already and, although there’s a lot of work to do before we can expect to repeat the level of success we enjoyed together 25-or-so years ago, it’s already clear that there’s enormous synergy and potential in our partnership, and I’m positive that, together, we’ll get to where we want to be: winning Grands Prix and eventually World Championships as McLaren-Honda.”
And with that, McLaren-Honda might be one of the biggest surprises of this year’s Formula One World Championship when they finally get their first year engine problems out of the way.