Dennis: F1 title 'impossible' for most teams

LONDON, England - McLaren team boss Ron Dennis has admitted he "definitely" expected McLaren-Honda to be performing better than it is at the mid-season point of 2015.

The Briton said: "We had every reason to think that we would be in a better situation than the one we find ourselves in."

Dennis insists that switching from Mercedes, the field-leading 'power unit' makers, to the struggling Honda camp was the right choice for the future.

MCLAREN WOES

Dennis said: "Our goal is to win the world championship and that objective would not be within our reach if we continued with a customer engine.

READ: McLaren 'underestimated' Honda switch

"Today we are not at the level we want to be, but I am certain we will get there sooner than people think."

However, although the dominance of the McLaren-Honda of the 80's is fabled, the Japanese automaker's more recent F1 foray was considered a failure.

Dennis says it would be wrong to suppose that 2015 so far is an indication that Honda will once again fail to conquer F1 in the modern era.

He said: "Even Mercedes took time to make their current team competitive. And at the beginning of our collaboration with Mercedes, things were not easy. We are facing a similar challenge now."

DIFFICULT PERIOD

Dennis said the team must go through the difficulties of this current period, because being a 'customer' of Mercedes or Ferrari is no route to success.

He said: "Look at qualifying at Silverstone, the factory team was almost a second faster than Williams.  With a customer engine, you will never be able to close that gap.

"These engines are so complex that the systems must be in absolute harmony with the chassis.  It requires a total commitment on the part of the suppliers and technical partners.

Dennis said: "That's why I preferred the road with Honda. Because even though it will take some time, it is the best possibility for McLaren to return to the top.

"It's just going to take a little more time than we would have liked," admitted Dennis.

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