'Exploratory talks started between McLaren and Honda'

McLaren and Honda have worked together before, most recently from 2015 to 2017, but it was by no means a happy marriage. 2016 was the worst year in McLaren's history, and engine problems caused McLaren to drop out of no less than nine races that year. In 2015, Fernando Alonso called the Honda engine "a GP2 engine" because of its poor performance. The partnership was terminated prematurely.

Currently, McLaren uses Mercedes engines, with which the team has slowly returned to the front of the midfield. Honda, meanwhile, has established a particularly successful partnership with Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen, leading to two drivers' titles and one constructors' title. However, Red Bull has since announced that it will team up with Ford from 2026, and so Honda is without a team. That has not stopped the brand from already going through the application process for the new engine regulations.

Honda needs McLaren more than the other way around

Of the six manufacturers that have applied for 2026, Honda is currently the only one without a team. A partnership with McLaren would remedy that problem, but a new alliance is by no means guaranteed just yet. Talks are said to be at a very early stage, and McLaren has several options to choose from. Continuing with Mercedes is certainly a possibility for the British team, or it could look at what Audi has to offer. These days, former McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl has the role of CEO there, and so it is an easy connection between the two parties.