Speculation McLaren and Honda could be set to split is intensifying ahead of this weekend’s Canadian grand prix.
With the Japanese carmaker notably struggling since re-entering F1 with McLaren in 2015, the once-great British team is reportedly now considering breaking its contract and buying Mercedes engines for 2018.
Spain’s Marca sports newspaper says new team executive Zak Brown has reached ’his limit’ with Honda, while Diario Sport says a 90-day deadline has been set.
But another Spanish sports daily, AS, said McLaren’s deadline will actually come sooner than that.
"AS has found that the first grand prix after the summer break (Belgium) is the limit for Brown and (Eric) Boullier, although they already expect to be competitive by Hungary," the report says.
"But the deadline is Spa," correspondent Manuel Franco claims. "If they are not at a proper level in Belgium, comfortably entering Q3 and fighting close to the top three, McLaren will decide to resume talks that have already begun with Mercedes."