McLaren considering ditching Honda for Alonso power unit
July 2015
After successfully pushing his stricken McLaren back to the pits during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso has said he is tempted to push his car round for the rest of the races because he believes it would be quicker than using the Honda engine.
Despite getting some lucky points in Hungary due to the front-runners all crashing into each other, McLaren has endured its worst season ever. The Honda engine has been both slow and reliable and, because teams aren’t allowed to improve their car during the season, they are languishing down at the back of the grid.
Alonso’s car came to a stop just before the pit lane entrance in qualifying so he decided to jump out and push his car back. “I thought I’d give it a go because I wanted to see how much faster the car could go compared to running this lump of Japanese crap in the back. It turns out my lap time would have been faster if I’d pushed it round the whole lap.”
This weekend Alonso also admitted he is considering options outside Formula 1: “I mean it’s not much fun driving round racing that silly Essex boy in the Marussia and the rules in Formula One are just pissing me off now. I’d much rather race in a series where I can win so I’m looking at the World Endurance Championship. I mean if that Nico Hulkenberg guy can win a race in that, then I must be able to as well, right?”
