McLaren: Formula 1 team could develop own engine from 2021

McLaren are keeping up the pressure on Honda. Tired of the Japanese supplier's poor performance in a partnership that looks to be on borrowed time, the British-based Formula 1 team are not ruling out starting to create their own engine - although such a move would not come about immediately, but from 2021.

McLaren chief: "F1 is going to change in a very positive way"

"We're interested to see what the new engine formula is in 2021, whether we'd consider doing our own engine, whether other people would come in under new rules," explained McLaren executive director Zak Brown in quotes published by crash.net. "I think right now we've got to focus on the next three years. As soon as we get that figured out, we've got to look out."

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"But I think the landscape in Formula 1 is going to change in a very positive way from 2021 onwards with budget caps and revenue redistribution and new engine rules. I think it's a little hard to take any decisions on 2021 because so many things will change.

Brown: Changes needed if McLaren to meet costs of in-house engine

"For us to do our own engine, that's not something we've done before, so that would require good lead time and some expenditure that we would consider doing," added Brown, who admitted that, as things stand, McLaren wouldn't be able to meet the costs of producing their engine in-house.

"We just need to have an understanding of the path forward, what are the rules and what are they going to cost. We certainly wouldn't be in a position to spend the hundreds of millions that it takes now to develop engines. So they're going to have to change the engine formula for it to be something that is economically viable for us."