McLaren expecting winning return after rekindling Mercedes partnership

McLaren CEO Zak Brown is expecting the new partnership with Mercedes to again yield Formula 1 victories.

The Woking-based team has reunited with the power unit supplier it left at the end of 2014 after using Honda and then Renault systems in the interim.

After an improved campaign last year in which McLaren finished third in the constructors' standings, Brown is expecting the new engine deal to push his team even further forward.

“We’re very excited," he said. "Obviously, we have a great history with Mercedes.

"Ola Källenius, now the CEO of Daimler, is a big McLaren fan and was with McLaren in those days.

"We have a lot of friends and family at Brixworth [Mercedes High Performance Powertrains] and I think they seem to be equally as excited.

"So we are very excited that we will be able to win races together in the future and hopefully challenge whoever is at the front, which will most likely be the Mercedes Grand Prix team.”

McLaren's last win in F1 was over eight years ago when Jenson Button took victory in the final race of the 2012 season in Brazil when the team was powered by Mercedes.

With the new season kicking off in March at the Bahrain GP, McLaren fired up the MCL35M for the first time at its factory late last month [January 27].