Two F1 pundits have played down reports McLaren could be about to sensationally dump Honda.
Given the great British team’s disastrous start to its third season with the Japanese marque, rumours swept the Melbourne paddock that talks between McLaren and Mercedes have now begun.
McLaren didn’t deny it, and team boss Eric Boullier sounded pessimistic that Honda can fix the situation.
"When are we going to have a good engine? I don’t know," the Belgian daily La Derniere Heure quoted him saying.
"Honda still has to invent it," Boullier added.
"That they are not happy is quite clear," former F1 driver Christian Klien told Austrian broadcaster Servus TV.
"But this is something they need to solve, because I do not believe they will find a new partner so quickly. There are also contracts that are very important," he added.
Another former driver turned F1 pundit, Christian Danner, agrees.
"While very complicated with these power units, changing engine supplier is technically possible," he told German broadcaster RTL, "but it would be almost an act of violence."