McLaren confirms three-year Renault engine deal for 2018

2018 F1 season

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McLaren has confirmed it will use Renault engines in 2018 following the conclusion of its troubled alliance with Honda.

“For McLaren Racing, the reason for the partnership is evident,” it said in a statement. “Renault has demonstrated its ability to build championship-winning engines, for its own team as well as customer teams.”

McLaren executive director Zak Brown says the change “gives us the stability we need to move ahead with our chassis and technical programme for 2018 without any further hesitation.”

“As an organisation, McLaren has always worked extremely hard to form lasting partnerships with its technical suppliers. We’re convinced that we can bring real value to Renault Sport Racing as we work alongside it to develop this current power unit into a regular race winner.”

Renault president Jerome Stoll described the move as “a strategic decision for Renault Sport Racing.”

“It is the first time that Renault will work with McLaren and we are proud to have reached an agreement with an organisation that has such a rich Formula One history.”

“This alliance is not only technical and sporting, but also comes with marketing and communication benefits. We know that McLaren will push us hard on track and this competition will be to the benefit of all.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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18 comments on “McLaren confirms three-year Renault engine deal for 2018”

  1. Now we just have to wait for Sainz’s switch to Renault announcement!

  2. I’d much rather have McLaren with one of my engines than Red Bull. They’re less likely to show up the factory team. Even if they do, they’ll be advertising Renault engines instead of watches.

    1. probably why Renault have agreed to supply McLaren and terminate Red Bull.
      Who knows if Honda would want to supply RB, anyway, given how much stick they have given Renault ( more than McLaren have given Honda!)

  3. Look like Alonso will be around in 2018 then. Good news, and for some reason McLaren Renault has a familiar ring to it even if it has never been seen before, not sure why.

    Don’t forget, it was as recent as 2010 that Red Bull won the championship as a customer with Renault competing as a works team also. I’m not suggesting that will happen next year, but perhaps it shows that they probably hand over the manual as well as the engine (unlike Mercedes, whom I’d doubt would ever let a customer beat them).

    1. @john-h I actually find the thought of McLaren running Renault engines very odd – it seems like a strange corporate mix, but then I haven’t really got used to the post-Ron McLaren yet and I guess this is part of it.

      To me McLaren Renault still sounds like two teams, not one!

    2. @john-h Yes, Red Bull won their first of the four double championships while being a 100% customer team before Renault became Lotus for four seasons, but at the same time, not entirely comparable as it was easier to win without full works backing from the engine/PU supplier before the current V6 Turbos came in.

    3. I like Alonso, at least he has character, but based on his career decisions, it probably means Honda will have a monster of an engine next year – lol!

  4. Would have loved to see Honda and McLaren stick it out and eventually win a championship.

    A blind man can see why they’ve split though. McLaren can’t afford to be anything but realistic.

  5. Short term solution for McLaren I would say. McLaren-Honda couldn’t even get a shot on podium in 3 years. If their chassis and is as good as they claim and Renault provides a decent PU nest year then they could be fighting with RedBull for best of the rest!
    It was one of those “damn if you do, damn of you don’t” decisions and they went for the split.
    Their attention has moved forward to 2021 new engine regulations…whether they are going to build their own engine or partner with someone, becoming a works team once again, remains to be seen. Thinking of it, the sooner Liberty and FIA decide on the new Formula the better. McLaren F1 Team for 2021 anyone ???

    1. not sure about competing for podiums – apart from Red Bull the other Renault engined teams have been mediocre.
      Red bull have been competitive due to the aero genius of Adrian Newey

  6. McLaren-Mercedes has a nice ring to it.
    Oh wait, that’s what they had for 20 years before they threw it all away and ended up where they are now, lost and wandering.

    1. That cycle has ended (prematurely maybe)! They should have given the McLaren-Honda deal more thought back when they decided to part ways with Mercedes! What if Honda doesn’t deliver???

      Anyway, what I’ve been thinking is that any car manufacturer competing with McLaren in the Super/Hyper car segment will not partner with them in the future!!! So the only solution would be independent engine or build their own…or BMW maybe? :)

    2. Which Mercedes-powered team, other than the works team, has even competed for race wins since 2014, let alone championships? Answer: none.

      1. @telvee32, well, it has to be said that Williams did come close to winning a few races in 2014 – they were on pole in the Austrian GP and lead the opening laps, with some arguing that, with a better strategy, they might have been able to win that race, and Massa did have an outside chance in Abu Dhabi (where he did lead about 14 laps and finished 2.5s off the lead). Equally, some did wonder if they possibly threw away a chance in the 2015 British GP given that they initially lead the race, as some felt that Bottas might have had a chance to break free from the pack if the team had ordered Massa to let him past (though that is more doubtful to me given how much time they lost in the closing laps when the rain showers struck).

  7. McLaren has no chance with Renault until 2021. They would have been better off with Mercedes until then. They could have been at least 3rd with that engine, now, Merc/Ferrari, RedBull, McLaren (if they are lucky).

    RBR will die for merc engine, what a stupid decision by Mclaren.

    1. McLaren already approached Mercedes, and Mercedes refused.

  8. A savvy decision from McLaren given the circumstances. The whole 15′-17′ Honda fiasco has been a complete disaster for the team, I really hope they can bounce back! Although I must admit ‘McLaren Renault’ sounds a little strange! One does wonder how deep the McLaren coffers are, to endure several seasons with no title sponsor, Alonso’s wages, and now undoubtedly a massive payoff to Honda, and a Renault supply to now pay for to boot! Considering McLaren’s heritage and reputation, they must be considering developing their own engines for 2021

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