McLaren Honda's new era likely will take time to... - NBCSports.com
McLaren and Honda reunite in 2015 for the first time since 1992. And while the two entities may ultimately recapture the glory days together, it is likely going to take time to get there. The reunion comes following the 24-year interlude with Mercedes-Benz for 20 seasons, and a year apiece with Peugeot and Ford in the mid-1990s. Heading into Melbourne, a circuit where both McLaren drivers finished on the podium a year ago, the team enters 2015 far from the position they hoped to be. It’s been something of a trying offseason since the final Grand Prix of the 2014 season in... Granted, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button remain two of F1’s best drivers and as recently as four or five years ago, you might have called them the best overall lineup on the grid (perhaps you still could, although Mercedes or Ferrari might beg... But neither driver got the chance to do much running over the winter, with the team barely completing more than 200 laps over 12 days of running in Spain. At least initially, the new Honda era at McLaren is more likely going to be focused on development rather than outright pace or performance at the sharp end of the grid in its first year. Consider Honda is at the point of its power unit curve development where the other three on the grid, Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault, were a year ago. Source: motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com
