Something we were talking about in the F1 2014 thread reminded me about this story. Someone was saying how they'd like to see Ron retake control of the McLaren team because Martin Whitmarsh was making too many bad decisions. Well, here's a real peach of a bad decision from Ron's era.
In 1993, McLaren had lost their supply of Honda engines due to the Japanese manufacturer pulling out (they were still sort-of represented by Mugen, but only with the Footwork team). Unable to secure a supply of the all-conquering Renault engines in the end - Ron's promise that they would get them was allegedly the only reason Michael Andretti signed with them! - they had to go with a Ford engine. Unfortunately, it was initially a customer-spec engine instead of the more powerful 'works' motors in the Benettons, and it took all of Senna's considerable talent to keep it at the pointy end of the grid.
Later in the year, an interesting option appeared. Bob Lutz of Chrysler came calling, wondering if McLaren would be interested in testing the Lamborghini V12 engine (Chrysler owned Lamborghini at the time). The Lambo V12 had been around for several years, and Chrysler were interested in seeing if it could do more in a better chassis and with Aryton and Mika at the wheel. A modified MP4/8B design was prepared, longer than the Ford-powered car to accommodate the V12.
Following initial testing at Silverstone and a more public test at Estoril in October, Senna was encouraged by the performance of the car. Back at Silverstone, Mika took the car around the track 1.4 seconds faster than the Ford powered McLaren had gone. Senna suggested that McLaren take the Lambo McLaren to race in the Japanese GP, but Ron was quick to deny that they would.
Instead, Ron decided to run Peugeot engines in 1994. He figured that a French manufacturer would want to throw everything at beating the Renault engines supplied to Williams and Ligier. Chrysler were so disappointed that they pulled the plug on the F1 project, and not long after sold Lamborghini. Senna was unimpressed by the move, and wasn't persuaded to stay at McLaren.
How different could 1994 have been for McLaren if they'd gone with the Chrysler-Lamborghini project? Chrysler had promised to dedicate a team to liaise with McLaren and TAG, and the 1993 engine had proved to be powerful and drivable. The Peugeot engine in the end turned out be both unreliable and hardly the last word in power, and McLaren suffered their first winless year for quite some time.
And the real kicker - what if that powerful V12 engine had persuaded Senna to stay?
In 1993, McLaren had lost their supply of Honda engines due to the Japanese manufacturer pulling out (they were still sort-of represented by Mugen, but only with the Footwork team). Unable to secure a supply of the all-conquering Renault engines in the end - Ron's promise that they would get them was allegedly the only reason Michael Andretti signed with them! - they had to go with a Ford engine. Unfortunately, it was initially a customer-spec engine instead of the more powerful 'works' motors in the Benettons, and it took all of Senna's considerable talent to keep it at the pointy end of the grid.
Later in the year, an interesting option appeared. Bob Lutz of Chrysler came calling, wondering if McLaren would be interested in testing the Lamborghini V12 engine (Chrysler owned Lamborghini at the time). The Lambo V12 had been around for several years, and Chrysler were interested in seeing if it could do more in a better chassis and with Aryton and Mika at the wheel. A modified MP4/8B design was prepared, longer than the Ford-powered car to accommodate the V12.
Following initial testing at Silverstone and a more public test at Estoril in October, Senna was encouraged by the performance of the car. Back at Silverstone, Mika took the car around the track 1.4 seconds faster than the Ford powered McLaren had gone. Senna suggested that McLaren take the Lambo McLaren to race in the Japanese GP, but Ron was quick to deny that they would.
Instead, Ron decided to run Peugeot engines in 1994. He figured that a French manufacturer would want to throw everything at beating the Renault engines supplied to Williams and Ligier. Chrysler were so disappointed that they pulled the plug on the F1 project, and not long after sold Lamborghini. Senna was unimpressed by the move, and wasn't persuaded to stay at McLaren.
How different could 1994 have been for McLaren if they'd gone with the Chrysler-Lamborghini project? Chrysler had promised to dedicate a team to liaise with McLaren and TAG, and the 1993 engine had proved to be powerful and drivable. The Peugeot engine in the end turned out be both unreliable and hardly the last word in power, and McLaren suffered their first winless year for quite some time.
And the real kicker - what if that powerful V12 engine had persuaded Senna to stay?
