Quote Originally Posted by AndyL View Post
It doesn't look so much like mud slinging if you ignore the journalist attempting to put the most sensational possible spin on it, and just read the direct quotes. The chassis is behind in development because of the lack of running caused by unreliability, is how I would paraphrase the actual quotes from Arai they've put under the heading "CHASSIS HIDING GAINS". Hardly attempting to divert blame.
I agree with you AndyL, this is the sensible way to look at it. But l am having serious doubts in believing that the Honda engine is faster than the current Renault engine. I am not sure how Arai arrived at that one. It may be the case that the Honda engine now has more horsepower than the Renault engine. If that is the case, then that would be enough evidence that the chassis is not quite at its optimum.
I think, everyone at Mclaren would be very comfortable with that. It is up to the aerodynamicist to find the time in the chassis. We could be seeing some improvement in the Mclaren-Honda's pace in the near future. Reliability allowing ofcourse.