Mercedes Motorsport Dir Toto Wolff said that Mercedes Formula 1 "wanted to supply McLaren with engines" in '18 but negotiations "dragged on for too long," according to Laurence Edmondson of ESPN.com. When it "became clear that Honda had failed to develop a competitive power unit" in '17, McLaren "started to seek alternative options" for '18. McLaren shareholder Mansour Ojjeh approached Mercedes owner Daimler Chair Dieter Zetsche about a possible deal, "leaning on the relationship the two built during Mercedes' 25-year supply deal with McLaren," but "when it came to negotiating details, the deal fell through." Wolff insisted that Mercedes "was interested in a deal," but said that he was "not able to put the infrastructure in place to cater for a fourth customer team at such short notice." He added, "We wanted to give McLaren an engine, the problem is that it dragged on for a long time and we just didn't have the structure in place and the capacity to supply them an engine for 2018. It was simply too late." McLaren went on to sign a three-year deal with Renault after Toro Rosso "agreed to give up its Renault supply and take on Honda power" in '18 (ESPN.com, 12/27).
