McLaren will offer Honda any resources it needs as it works to improve its power unit to help the Woking team climb up the grid.
Until now, McLaren have largely focused on the chassis side of things, allowing engine partner Honda to get on with its job. But with a growing list of failures and a unit which is 80 horse power down on some of its rivals, McLaren are to assist the Japanese manufacturer.
McLaren racing director Eric Boullier hopes this will accelerate their recovery period and hopefully bring some success later in the year.
“Of course, it is easy to blame the partner, but as a partner we also have to be supportive,” he said after the Canadian Grand Prix.
“We need to help them to accelerate this recovery time. We need to make sure they are properly equipped to do it.”
As to what exactly McLaren could assist or provide Honda with to help, he replied: “In terms of timing, when you want to catch up you basically have to put more resources on the programme.
“If you want to do it short-term you need to bring more experienced resources.
“We have some software, IT, whatever it is, we have this experience at home, so McLaren can actually offer Honda support in this domain to help them shift resources.”
Boullier added that he and McLaren are determined not to begin pointing the finger of fault at Honda to avoid a situation similar to Red Bull and Renault, which has created tension between both companies.
“It is hard not to blame,” he added. “It is a management exercise, and we don’t want to be like Renault and Red Bull – fighting in the media. There is no sense in that.
“There is a proper reason why we moved to Honda, and we are happy with the move, even if it is frustrating now.
“You need to keep people regularly informed. Yes, it’s painful, yes it’s maybe embarrassing, but this is Formula 1 where the technology is huge and complex.”
