Lauda backs McLaren-Honda revival despite 2015 woes

Niki Lauda, Mercedes F1 chairman and three-time world champion, has tipped McLaren-Honda to recover from a difficult 2015 season, pointing to Honda’s commitment and the resilience of Fernando Alonso. Lauda’s comments follow a string of poor results and public reliability issues for the team, including Alonso’s breakdown and push back to the pits during Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying.

Lauda, who won titles with McLaren in the 1980s, described Honda’s current power unit challenges as understandable given the complexity of modern Formula One engines. He acknowledged the lack of power and reliability but argued these were typical growing pains for a returning manufacturer. Lauda said he believes Honda’s engineers will persist until they achieve success, referencing the Japanese company’s strong work ethic and determination to compete at the front.

Alonso’s decision to leave Ferrari for McLaren in 2015 has drawn scrutiny as the team’s results have dipped. Lauda dismissed suggestions that Alonso’s title hopes are over, saying the Spaniard is fully committed to the McLaren project and expects improvement. Alonso has been vocal about the challenges but has not set a fixed target for the season, instead focusing on long-term progress.