proteus wrote:One of the worst joint operations in the last 2 decades was definetly Arrows with Hart engines. Especially 1998 when both engines simultaniesly broke down. 1999 season was even worse.
In that case neither Arrows nor Hart had the history (and hype) that McLaren and Honda do.
For me one of the biggest mistakes of the partnership was the hype from inside the team, from the beginning the only thing they talked about was world titles, that's one of the main factors for the disappointment that surrounds the team. Of course, no one would expect McHonda to have such a slow start, but for me they should've kept expectations at a reasonable level, and leave the hype for people outside the team, that way no one could blame them.
If I recall 2010, when Mercedes joined the grid, I don't remember they hyping their team half as much as McLaren is, and 5 years later they're coming to their second season of complete domination, the same with Red Bull in 2005.
I believe McLaren only did all that laud because of their desperate search for a main sponsor, but in the long term it backfired terribly.