McLaren believes a second Honda-powered team on the F1 grid next year is the last thing the beleaguered engine manufacturer needs.
The return of the McLaren-Honda partnership in F1 has not gone to plan this year, with just a handful of points from the first nine races of the season. Honda is the only engine manufacturer in F1 that supplies just one team, but McLaren CEO Jonathan Neale insists that is not a disadvantage and a second team would only duplicate the existing problems.
"We are supportive of the engine manufacturers providing power units to more than one team, but right now that's the last thing we need!" he told ESPN. "We need to focus on the issue at hand, not replicate the issues we have."
Neale said Honda is playing catch-up at the moment and pointed out that it is two years behind pace-setters Mercedes in its development.
"We've got a long relationship with Honda going back many years and we're confident they are they right partners to be with. Mercedes has been through four and half years developing their engine and Honda are two and half through theirs. In Formula One you do all your development in public - partly that's why we like it because it's about getting the job done at a personal level as well as a team level."
Mercedes is currently showing no signs of loosening its grip on F1 domination, but Neale thinks it is up to its rivals to improve over the coming years.
"It's a bit like the dominant years of Ferrari, if you were to go back to the dominant years between 2000 and 2004 it was Ferrari all the way and people were turning off the sport because it was a precession not a race. The good thing is that Mercedes let their guys race each other and Ferrari have managed to close the gap on them a bit and are showing some promise. But, quite frankly, it's up to the rest of us to do a better job."