Dennis says no Honda customers before on-track succes

Ron Dennis has indicated he will not give the green light for Honda to begin supplying engines to customer teams. A new rule means engine manufacturers in F1 must be prepared to supply up to three teams per season, but McLaren supremo Dennis has a reported contractual veto guaranteeing an exclusive works arrangement for the Woking team.

Reports this week have linked Toro Rosso and Force India with potential Honda deals for 2017 but Dennis says it is important for McLaren to focus on its own targets for now. "If you want to win world championships, plural, which we absolutely do, you have to be aligned with a manufacturer, toe to toe, head to head, and fully prioritised," he said in an interview with F1 Racing magazine.

"And after you're begun to reap the competitive benefits of that mutually loyal one-to-one commitment, and on-track success duly begins to come, then you can consider supplying other teams, but not before," Dennis said in the interview to mark McLaren's 50th anniversary.

"Yes, we at McLaren want to be good formula one citizens, and we always have been, but altruistic behaviour of that nature must also be set against a background of fair, pragmatic and sensible business practices. So if you want to hear it in blunt terms, let's get to the point where we've won the world championship first and then we'll think about it," he added. (GMM)