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McLaren and Honda rekindle a winning combination

With the 2014 Formula One World Championship now drawn to a close, all eyes are fixed on next season. And for both McLaren and Honda, that means the dawn of a new era – or hopefully, the return to one bygone. After twenty years running Mercedes engines, McLaren is switching back to Honda next season, rekindling the most successful partnership the once-dominant team has ever had. Immediately after swapping to Honda power in 1988 – and with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost behind the wheel – McLaren entered its winningest era, racking up four consecutive world championships. In the two decades it's spent under Mercedes power since, it won three drivers' titles and one constructors', leaving the relatively brief Honda era as its most successful. It was also the most successful for Honda, which had enjoyed success with Williams and some with Lotus, but far more with McLaren – the likes of which it was never able to recreate. The Japanese automaker that was the first to break into the Euro-centric series left grand prix racing when it left McLaren, and despite returning to fund its own team for the better part of a decade, claimed but one checkered flag before calling it quits again. Whether the new collaboration will return both outfits to the winner's circle remains to be seen, but we're looking forward to finding out. In the meantime, after releasing a couple of images from the video shoot last week, McLaren has put out this minute-and-a-half video clip showing the MP4-29H running a few laps around Silverstone, marking the official start of what could be the second reign of the McLaren-Honda dynasty. News Source: McLaren Motorsports Honda McLaren Racing Vehicles Videos F1 mclaren-honda

Is Fernando Alonso preparing to sit out 2016?

Things have not been going well for Fernando Alonso since moving to McLaren. In fact they've been going so poorly that the Spanish driver may end up sitting out next season if things don't improve. At least those are the rumors presently occupying the Formula One paddock. The notion was first raised by McLaren chief Ron Dennis. When asked by reporters about Alonso's near-term future with the team, Dennis said, "I have an open mind to anything, and some of the ideas have involved those sorts of considerations, yes, sabbatical years etcetera." Though far from confirmed, the basic idea would be to see how next year's car performs in pre-season testing, and if it's not up to spec, Alonso could end up sitting out a season while McLaren and Honda get their partnership up to speed, so to speak. Alonso appeared to be puzzled by the prospect his boss raised, but couldn't rule it out, either. It would be a rather unprecedented move, but could end up avoiding some frustrations as the Anglo-Japanese teething process works itself out with time. Alonso has been a constant on the grid since 2003, missing only two grands prix in thirteen seasons: the 2005 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis when all the Michelin-equipped teams sat out the race in protest, and the Australian Grand Prix at the beginning of this year, when Alonso was still recovering from a crash in pre-season testing. Out of 254 grands prix contested to date, Fernando has landed on the podium 97 times, including 32 wins and two world championships. This season, however, he's only finished in the points once, with his fifth-place finish in Hungary. Of the eighteen races he contested this year, his car failed to get him to the finish line altogether at seven. His seventeenth place in the final standings for the season are the worst he's done since his debut in 2001 with Minardi (the team now known as Toro Rosso). News Source: Autosport (1), (2), (3)Image Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Motorsports Honda McLaren F1 mclaren-honda

Acura NSX bodywork to be sheathed in zirconium e-coat, fewer paint layers

Automakers make halo cars to drum up excitement and show off what they can do, but there's more to it than that. Advanced platforms allow a company's engineers to experiment with all sorts of technologies. And in the case of the upcoming new Acura NSX, that includes new paint processes.
Speaking with Autoline in this video interview, Honda's North American Senior VP Jon Minto talked about an innovative zirconium e-coat which it's applying to the new NSX. Unlike some experimental paints developed for Formula One, however, this coating is not designed to minimize drag or enhance cooling: it's designed to be more environmentally friendly.
It's one of a few measures which Honda is implementing on the NSX before expanding it to more accessible models, along with another process that uses fewer coats to reduce energy consumption by 40 percent. Watch the interview with Autoline host John McElroy right here.