Vandoorne doesn't even start Bahrain GP after yet another Honda failure; "I've never raced with so little power in my life," says Alonso
Sunday 16 April 2017 21:08, UK
McLaren boss Zak Brown has admitted there will be no quick fixes for the team after the former F1 superpowers slumped to a new nadir on a torrid race day in Bahrain.
After Stoffel Vandoorne was forced out of the grand prix even before it had started due to the fourth Honda MGU-H failure of the weekend, Fernando Alonso's frustration frequently boiled over on team radio as the Spaniard battled in vain to collect McLaren's first points of the year.
"I've never raced with so little power in my life," an irate Alonso complained over team radio.
To add insult to considerable injury, the 20-time world champions are now tenth and last in the Constructors' Championship after Sauber's Pascal Wehrlein finished in eleventh.
"We had a lot of failures this weekend and I feel terrible for Stoffel not even getting a chance to race. We need to get on top of this problem, our partner needs to get on top of this problem and we need to do it quickly. But unfortunately there are no quick fixes in this sport," Brown told Sky Sports F1 after bravely facing up to the cameras.
"Threatening is not a good approach in life. We're having lots of meeting [with Honda]. The president has been to the first three races and was on the grid with us. We just need to fix the problem quickly.
"The fly-away races are difficult because it makes it harder to get on top of things until we get back to Europe. I'd like to be a bit more optimistic for Russia but I fear it may be more of the same."
It's understood Honda have told McLaren it will be at least a month before they provide a fix for the vibrations from their engine which have plagued the team since the start of winter testing in February.
"Come Europe we will start to see some new things on the car and power unit which will hopefully bring improvements.
"A few more races but it should be middle of the season realistically," added Brown.
Alonso is out of contract with McLaren at the end of the season and the prospect of the Spaniard signing a new deal already feels remote in the wake of their disastrous start to 2017.
"If we give Fernando a good race car we will keep him, I'm confident of that," insisted Brown. "He really likes the environment. He's great to work with, he's frustrated but he's a team player and is helping motivating us. We want to give him and Stoffel a great car. I think a good race car he sticks around.
"Everyone in pit lane who has a seat available would want to speak to him. We're not putting all our eggs in one basket, that would be irresponsible. But he is who we want in the car and we will pick up conversations in the summer when we have a better sense of where we are."
Don't miss the F1 Report: Bahrain GP Review on Sky Sports F1 at 8.30pm on Wednesday for the final word on the weekend's action.
