McLaren will be back where they belong in 2018 – Zak Brown

McLaren boss Zak Brown insists McLaren will be back where they belong in 2018 following its switch from Honda to Renault power.

McLaren's performance nosedived following its switch from Mercedes to Honda in 2015, with the team failing to score a single podium since and finishing near the bottom of the standings for the past three seasons.

That prompted a last-minute switch to Renault for 2018 and Brown is confident that will provide the boost the team needs to return to the front of the field.

"People will like what our car looks like, we've got some new partners onboard that we’ll start announcing later this month and we’ve got the two drivers we want," he said at the Autosport International Show.

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"We’re happy with the working relationship with Renault, and we should hopefully be back to where people are used to seeing McLaren – at the front of the field!"

Brown has no doubts that Honda is to blame for McLaren's lacklustre results and although he admits there is room for improvement within the team, he is expecting major steps forward this year.

"[Honda] was certainly our single largest deficit of performance. We’re not perfect, we certainly have room to improve, our pit stops aren’t good enough, we need to be top three so we have some areas we can improve, but the lack of power was our single biggest area of weakness so I think when we get the Renault in the back we should see a substantial difference in Australia.

"We’ve got a lot of confidence in Renault, so the package should be one of the most anticipated teams to watch come Australia. We’re eager to get out there testing."