McLaren committed to Mercedes power
Red Bull has teamed up as Renault's factory outfit, Ferrari builds its own engines and Mercedes GP is naturally the main focus of McLaren's engine supplier.
Has the Woking based team therefore spoken to new 2014 supplier Pure, or Cosworth?
"That's a good question, but the assumption that we're not working as closely with Mercedes (anymore) would be incorrect," McLaren's managing director Jonathan Neale said during a Vodafone teleconference on Wednesday.
"We are working with them very closely ahead of 2014," he added, referring to the changeover from the current V8s to the new turbo V6s of the future.
"I don't feel in any way that we are being disadvantaged or being held at arm's length."
Neale insisted that the fear McLaren is not a focus for Mercedes is "not a concern or an issue for us at all".
09/21/11 Jonathan Neale, Managing Director of McLaren, says he is able to give a ‘cast-iron guarantee’ that his team will stick with Mercedes-Benz power up to and beyond the introduction of 1.6-litre V6 turbo engines at the beginning of the 2014 season.
The Woking squad currently has a deal with the power plant manufacturer until 2015, with Neale explaining that there are currently no plans to switch suppliers.
"I'm not going to discuss the contractual terms within that, but I can give a cast-iron guarantee that it is our intention to stay with Mercedes-Benz and these engines as we transition between here to the next generation of engines," Neale said during a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes phone-in. "They are our engine partner, we very much like working with them and want to do so for many years to come."
Neale also moved to quash fears that McLaren and Mercedes are now less attached, with Brackley-based Mercedes GP currently the company’s factory outfit.
"The assumption that we're not working as closely with Mercedes is incorrect," he added. "We've had a long relationship with Mercedes-Benz High-Performance Engines at Brixworth, we know the guys up there very well and we're a good team together.
"I think certainly we expect, and we are, working very closely with them ahead of 2014. Our job, as theirs is, is to make sure Mercedes-Benz has the best engine on the grid and is best prepared and most ready (for the 2014 campaign). I don't feel in any way that we are being disadvantaged or held at arm's length."