McLaren F1 boss 'apologised' over power unit disaster

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McLaren

McLaren F1 boss 'apologised' over power unit disaster

McLaren boss Ron Dennis is said to have admitted being 'wrong' about Honda's F1 prospects

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Tuesday 20 January 2026 16:54

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An apology from former McLaren F1 boss Ron Dennis has resurfaced after the legendary team principal admitted to being wrong about a major power unit gamble.

Between 1981 and 2009, Dennis served as team principal, CEO and co-owner of McLaren F1, producing seven constructors' championship victories.

During his time at the helm of the British F1 team, Dennis also led the squad to 10 drivers’ championships secured by legends of the sport; Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton.

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Dennis oversaw several successful spells with McLaren but the most iconic came during their partnership with Honda in 1988, When Senna and Prost dominated the season, winning all but one race at the wheel of the McLaren-Honda MP4/4.

In 2015 however, the Brit learned the hard way through his CEO role that just because a partnership has been fruitful in the past, it doesn't mean the same success can be easily replicated.

McLaren director gave warning over Honda F1 concerns

On paper, McLaren looked competitive ahead of the 2015 campaign thanks to signing two champions in the form of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.

Having convinced the Spaniard to make the switch after a disappointing stint at Ferrari, Alonso joined McLaren just in time to see Honda make a comeback following the squad's decision to move away from being a Mercedes customer team.

But McLaren's gamble to return to Honda power units did not pay off and Button and Alonso finished the season P16 and P17 respectively in the drivers' championship.

Now, quotes from McLaren's racing director at the time have revealed that Dennis was warned about the gamble of returning to Honda.

Eric Boullier told Motor Sport magazine: "I remember arriving back in Woking from a visit to Honda’s Formula 1 headquarters in Japan sometime in 2014 and asking Ron Dennis: ‘How is it possible that Honda will be ready to compete with Mercedes and the others as early as next year when they are clearly still so far behind?’

"Ron replied: ‘Don’t worry.’ Later, I revisited the Honda plant and I called Ron from there.

"‘Come here and see for yourself,’ I said to him. But, again, Ron assured me that it would all work out ok.

"But it couldn’t and it didn’t. Honda just weren’t ready. They had begun work on their Formula 1 project at the end of 2012.

"When we went testing at Jerez in February 2015 – and we were terrible: slow and unreliable – Ron called me and said: ‘You were right and I was wrong, Eric. This is probably the first time I’ve ever apologised to a Frenchman.'"

Ahead of the new regulations cycle for 2026, Honda are making their full-time comeback with Aston Martin, where Alonso will be crossing his fingers in the hope that he doesn't experience a repeat of the 2015 campaign.