For most of us who follow motorsports, the headline above is a bit of a shocker really. But Fiat-Chrysler has announced that an agreement has been made for them to acquire the McLaren Technology Group and thus the McLaren F1 team, if we are to believe the famed Italian blogger, Teo Lurrini. Despite having won 12 Drivers Championships (the latest in 2008) and eight Constructor’s Titles, the likes of Ron Dennis, who is still a shareholder, have decided to lower the curtain on a piece of British racing history. The team based in Woking, UK will now most certainly find itself racing under new colours very soon.
The news follows hot on the heels of the latest Honda-powered McLaren debacle at the Melbourne Grand Prix, with Stoffel Vandoorne coming last of the runners and Fernando Alonso failing to finish. This has led to shareholders becoming tired and frustrated with the team’s recent seasons’ underperformance and thus will throw in the towel and get a nice return on their investment.
Honda has the option to pull out of its engine supply deal should there be any change of ownership, but this probably won’t worry McLaren much, as one of the other luxury sports car brands in the Fiat-Chrysler stable is of course Ferrari. Whilst Honda has been able to build successful engines for the Indy Car race series that it also participates in, its power units have not stood up to the rigours of F1 and it looks like this will be a good excuse for Honda to gracefully bow out of F1 for a second time.
Of course Alfa Romeo has a massive history in Grand Prix racing and Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat-Chrysler, has hinted that they could ditch the name McLaren and return to the sport under the Alfa Romeo Squadra Corsa flag, as a way of promoting the prestigious brand’s sporty image. And why not? The re-launch of Alfa in North America has been nothing more than a runaway success, despite its bungling attempt to position itself in the high end of the luxury car market. Although, of course, F1 is not very popular in the USA.
