#F1 Fernando Alonso on the brink as McLaren hit crisis

Fernando Alonso on the brink as McLaren engulfed by crisis over misfiring Honda engine

It sums up the pain of a suffering giant that a website has been launched called: ‘Has McLaren Broken Down Today?’

The question is almost rhetorical, the answer more often than not in the affirmative.

McLaren, 20 times world champions, whose part-owner Ron Dennis often referred to the team as the Manchester United of Formula One, have endured an awful time during pre-season testing in Barcelona, their Honda-supplied engines being a) unreliable and b) slow.

This is not how it was supposed to be when the new MCL32 car was launched amid much razzmatazz little more than a fortnight ago.

Instead, McLaren will arrive at the first race in Melbourne a fortnight today having completed fewer laps than any other team, while Ferrari have gone fastest and Mercedes are predictably strong. The chances offered to McLaren by the regulation changes have vanished before a wheel has been turned in anger.

Fingers are being pointed, entirely at Honda.

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