Could this unlikely team be the ones to knock Mercedes off their perch?

No, guys. It won’t be Red Bull Racing and their brand new Renault engines. Instead, Rod Dennis thinks McLaren-Honda will be the next ones to put Mercedes in their place despite a poor run of form

McLaren-Honda hasn’t been having the best time of it since their last win in 2012, with their 2015 collaboration with Honda marking their worst season in 30 years. However, chairman Rod Dennis remains undaunted by their plight of late, insisting that both the team members and Honda possess the technical know-how to best the German giants.

Allready back in the simulator today! Test debrief and Monaco prep work 💪 #McLarenHonda #OneGoal pic.twitter.com/N4uaganBLi

— Stoffel Vandoorne (@svandoorne) May 19, 2016

“I honestly believe that the next world champions after Mercedes will be McLaren. We’ll get to the goal before other people. It is challenging but I have a firm belief in the technical competence of our people and a firm belief in Honda”

Rod Dennis

We wish he would elaborate on exactly why he continues to place his trust in Honda though. After all, the Japanese team has been struggling greatly to remain on top of the V6 hybrid regulations. As a result, their MP4-30 has proven to be underpowered and unreliable on the track, making the climb to victory an ever more arduous one. If they have so far failed to prove themselves when it counts, how is he expecting to achieve different results with the same strategies?

But apparently, it’s rumoured that they won’t be the same strategies after all. There is supposed to be a complete overhaul in technical regulations with revised aerodynamics, tyres and engine tweaks. We wonder if all these measures will be enough, especially with Red Bull Racing publicising their own technological advances with Renault.

However, with four top ten results making for a solid start to 2016, things may not be so bleak for the ailing team after all.