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| Formula One driver Fernando Alonso of McLaren-Honda in action |
Former champions McLaren will swap their Honda engines for Renault ones at the end of the Formula One season after calling time on a troubled three-year partnership marked by frustration and failure.
Honda will stay in Formula One, replacing Renault as engine supplier to Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso whose Spanish driver Carlos Sainz moves to the French team on loan for the 2018 season.
The major shake-up, announced at the Singapore Grand Prix on Friday, ends McLaren and Hondaโs dream of recreating the glory years of the late 1980s and early 90s when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were dominant.
โFor a combination of reasons our partnership has not flourished as any of us would have wished,โ McLaren executive director Zak Brown said in a statement.
โIt is certainly not for the want of effort on the part of either Honda or McLaren, but the time has come to move ahead in different directions.โ
Honda Motor Co. President Takahiro Hachigo expressed regret at a move that had become an open secret, and thanked Formula Oneโs owners Liberty Media and the governing FIA for their part in the dealmaking with Toro Rosso.
โIt is unfortunate that we must part ways with McLaren before fulfilling our ambitions, however, we made the decision with a belief that this is the best course of action for each otherโs future,โ he said.
Fernando Alonso, the double world champion whose outbursts at Hondaโs shortcomings have become a regular feature of race broadcasts, is expected to stay at McLaren.
The 36-year-old Spaniard, who won his world titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006, was not mentioned in the statements but has made having a competitive engine a key demand.
