Later today McLaren will take the wraps off its new MP4-27 F1 car. But a recent article in Gazzetta dello Sport has raised questions over McLaren’s future engine partner when F1 swicthes to V6 turbo engines in 2014.
The report claims McLaren has met with new engine maker PURE to discuss a deal that would see them replace Mercedes as the teams’s engine supplier. PURE is headed by former manager to Jacques Villeneuve and BAR Team Principal Craig Pollock.
A McLaren spokesman has quickly dismissed the claims, “McLaren has had absolutely no contact with Pure for many months.
“Moreover, the contact we did have with Pure, many months ago, was of an entirely informal nature, and was merely a courtesy gesture.”
Pollock, too, has said there’s no backroom deal taking place, “The contact between PURE and McLaren was towards the end of last year when we visited all F1 teams to present the PURE powertrain programme.
“This meeting took place with Gilles Simon and myself along with the pertinent McLaren representatives. There has been no follow up meeting or discussions to date.”
For now, this seems like a nothing story. Although, iIt does appear that PURE will be quite aggressive in trying to enter F1 so we’ll keep watching with interest.