Honda changes do not compromise MCL32 - McLaren

Honda's power unit overhaul came with close input from McLaren and the team is confident it does not compromise the aerodynamic concept of the MCL32 in any way.

Following two years of struggle, Honda has taken advantage of the removal of the token system to make major changes to its power unit, with head of F1 project Yusuke Hasegawa estimating the 2017 engine to be more than 90% new. Director of engineering Matt Morris says the changes made by Honda came with him working closely alongside the power unit partner and should allow a high rate of development throughout the season.

"We've change a lot of the layout of the engine and that's not been easy, because a lot of the key architecture has changed but that's something we've done working with them very closely and we've done these things together both to suit the chassis and suit the engine," said Morris (pictured). "So we all feel we've got an engine architecture that is right and is capable of challenging the best.

"In terms of where we are in absolute performance it's difficult to know. Are we going to rock up with an engine that beats Mercedes at the start of the year? Probably not. But if we can close the gap like we have been doing the last two years, then I think that's a good step forward.

"I think the good thing looking forward to the rest of the year with the regulation change and the token system being dropped it allows us to develop the engine a lot through the year. So I'm sure what we start with in Barcelona next week is absolutely not going to be where we finish the end of the year. So, again, that's going to be an exciting development period for us.

"With the base architecture of the engine which I feel now is where it needs to be, a bit like we do with the chassis we've got a good architecture there and we can build on the performance – hopefully quickly – throughout the season."

Asked if the Honda changes led to a compromise in terms of the aerodynamic philosophy employed by McLaren under new regulations this season, Morris insists that is not the case.

"The architecture that we've worked on suits the whole car. It suits us from an aerodynamic point of view but it also suits Honda from being able to develop performance. I don't think there's any secrets about it – I think it's what the other teams have gravitated towards. So I don't think we've made any compromises in terms of from a chassis or a pure performance point of view.

"I think what we have done is invest a lot of resource in getting that architecture right, but I think that's the right thing to have done to then allow the performance upgrades to come and to come quickly."