McLaren not unsettled by latest Renault engine breakdowns

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says the team isn’t flustered about seeing a number of Renault power unit failures in recent races ahead of its switch to the French manufacturer in 2018.

While only two of the six Renault-powered Formula 1 cars made it to the finish of the Mexican Grand Prix last time out, Toro Rosso suffered two engine breakdowns during Friday practice ahead of the Brazilian race while Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo came into the weekend with a 10-place grid penalty for his eighth MGU-H unit of the year.

Renault says it has acted quickly to avoid a repeat of Mexico, while also blaming the high altitude for the issues in Mexico, and has given McLaren assurances the reliability woes won’t continue into 2018 with next year's engine specification.

“The Renault issues are mainly effecting one team. We have no worries about it,” Boullier said. “They are not on top of their game as let’s say Mercedes is but I think they have sorted out most of the issues.

“This is the same season and coming towards the end of the season so you are running towards the end of the mileage of the components. It is a big step but they are working on it.”

McLaren has ditched Honda as its engine partner after three frustrating seasons in F1 with an unreliable and underpowered engines. McLaren will switch to Renault power from 2018 while Toro Rosso has taken up Honda as its engine partner for next season.