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McLaren F1 team sets deadline for engine decision amid Renault speculation

BUDAPEST - McLaren says the next five weeks will be the key to deciding which engine it will use next season, with speculation mounting that the former world champions could ditch Honda and switch to Renault. Chief operating officer Jonathan Neale told Reuters at the Hungarian Grand Prix that "everybody is talking to everybody," but time was running out. "We've got to land those decisions in the next four or five weeks," he said, speaking from a design perspective and because drivers like McLaren's Fernando Alonso were waiting to see what engines teams had before committing to new deals. "I think there is a solution out there for everybody and I hope it's one that will be able to retain Fernando in this team." McLaren scored their first double-points finish of the season in Budapest on Sunday with double world champion Alonso finishing sixth, a day after his 36th birthday, and Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne 10th. The nine points lifted McLaren off the bottom of the standings just before the August break and factory shutdown, a result that Neale compared to scoring a goal before halftime. Alonso's future is a key concern, with the Spaniard out of contract and saying McLaren needs to provide a competitive car to keep him. Honda's power unit has been beset with problems since the partnership started in 2015, the engine neither reliable nor competitive. Hungary, the slowest permanent circuit on the calendar, reduced those shortcomings, but the next two races in Belgium and Italy are two of the fastest, where engine horsepower is of critical importance. McLaren is Honda's sole team in Formula One. A proposed partnership with Sauber terminated last week with the Swiss team choosing to stay with Ferrari. A split from McLaren could force the Japanese manufacturer out of the sport, but Neale hinted at an alternative. "You'll have seen the media speculation that there's discussions with Toro Rosso," he said. Toro Rosso use Renault engines, but a switch to Honda — which could bring welcome funding to a team whose Red Bull parent has considered a sale in the past — would free the French units for McLaren. The Renault engine has won a race this season with Red Bull and could satisfy Alonso, who won both his titles with the French manufacturer. The other alternatives to Honda are Mercedes and Ferrari, but Neale recognized that putting a Ferrari engine in a McLaren, the Italian team's historic arch-rivals, was highly unlikely.

McLaren going all-hybrid within ten years

There's a lot that's ground-breaking in the McLaren P1, not the least of it being its mind-bending performance. But so is its hybrid powertain. Aside from its Formula One racers, the P1 is the first hybrid McLaren ever made. But it won't be the last. Speaking with CEO Mike Flewitt, Edmunds reports that McLaren won't reserve its hybrid technology just for its flagship hypercar, but will integrate electric propulsion into every one of its models within ten years' time. In fact, it may even do a fully electric car as well. Of course that's a long-term vision for a company that's only been in operation (at least in its current form) for about five years. In that time it has launched the 12C, the P1 and the 650S. Soon it will add a new "entry-level" model internally known as P13, tipped to debut at the Geneva Motor Show next March, that will be more accessible in terms of price and performance. And it will – sometime within the next ten years – succeed the P1 with a P15 that will cost about half of the six-figure P1. Just what it has in mind for P14, however, remains a big question mark. Featured Gallery McLaren P1 News Source: Edmunds McLaren Hybrid Performance mclaren p13 mclaren p15

McLaren refutes rampant Alonso rumors post-crash

There have been a lot of rumors surrounding Fernando Alonso after his crash at the Formula One test-session two days ago in Barcelona. And none of that was helped any by the shroud of secrecy that seemed to have enveloped McLaren in the aftermath of the incident. But late yesterday the team issued an update on the champ's condition, addressing some of those rumors head-on. Firstly, McLaren is "pleased to confirm that... Fernando Alonso is making a solid recovery in hospital," and that's the most important part. The statement goes on to say that "he is being kept in hospital for further observation, and to recover from the effects of the medication that successfully managed his routine sedation yesterday." From there picks up the fight against rampant speculation. Though Working confirms that it has yet to determine the cause of the accident, it vehemently denies the rumor that Alonso passed out behind the wheel after having been shocked or inhaled toxic fumes from the hybrid powertrain's batteries. "Our data clearly shows that he was downshifting while applying full brake pressure right up to the moment of the first impact – something that clearly would not have been possible had he been unconscious at the time." The rumors were fueled by first-hand accounts, particularly from his arch-rival Sebastian Vettel, suggesting that Alonso was slumped over before veering suddenly off-track and hitting the wall. They weren't helped any by the veil that hid Alonso from view as he was removed from the wreckage to be taken first to the trackside medical complex and then loaded onto a helicopter to be taken to the hospital. But the evidence seems to point towards the strong and shifting winds as the culprit, as other drivers reported being tossed around by sudden gusts as well. "Our data also confirms that Fernando's car struck the inside concrete wall, first with its front-right wheel and then with its rear-right. It was a significant lateral impact, resulting in damage to the front upright and axle," McLaren described the incident. "After the initial impact, the car slid down the wall for about 15 seconds before coming to a halt. All four wheels remained attached to the car, but no damage was sustained by the bodywork or crash structure between the front and rear wheels." News Source: McLarenImage Credit: Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Celebrities Motorsports McLaren F1 mclaren-honda