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Surprise! McLaren and Honda finally call it quits

It's been coming for a long while, so it should surprise no one to learn that McLaren and Honda have finally called it quits. Sources confirmed to Motorsport.com and Sky Sports that the two companies have finally settled on a deal that will end a partnership that has been nothing but heartache and tears. McLaren has reportedly inked a three-year deal to use Renault engines, ending in 2020 along with the current engine regulations. This also means McLaren driver Fernando Alonso is likely to extend his contract beyond the end of this season. When Honda first announced it was returning to F1 with McLaren, fans had visions of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button reliving the glory days of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in the late 1980s. The truth couldn't be further removed. At points, McLaren has struggled to make it the full race distance, much less win races and fight for championships. Frankly, it's been embarrassing for both Honda and McLaren. No one comes out a winner here. Honda has sullied any reputation it had in F1, while Alonso's talent and McLaren's engineering expertise were both wasted the past few seasons. According to Motorsport.com, McLaren will get the same engine parity as the factory Renault Sport team as well as Red Bull Racing. Assuming that McLaren can provide a competitive chassis, that should vault it at least into the middle of the pack. Team principal Zak Brown hasn't been quiet about his frustrations. After both McLaren drivers failed to finish in Italy, Brown told Sky Sports, "We need to get more competitive. This weekend showed we're not making any significant progress." Meanwhile, Toro Rosso will switch from Renault to Honda power, with Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz Jr. making the move to Renault. What that means for Red Bull's junior team is unclear. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Race Recap: 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix is Magyar for 'What a race!'

Every driver on the Formula 1 grid dreams of taking home the silverware, but only one driver each year can do it. Barring disaster in 2015 it looks like it's going to be Lewis Hamilton. The Brit has been so dominating at the front of the grid on Saturday, we can't see how he'll miss out on winning the second annual FIA Pole Position Trophy. That's the accolade introduced last season in another manufactured attempt to give drivers something to work for on Saturday, since the FIA felt leading into the first corner didn't have the pull it used to. Hamilton took his ninth pole of the season in Hungary for Mercedes-AMG Petronas with a crushing lap that put him almost six tenths ahead of his teammate Nico Rosberg in second. All Hamilton needs is one more spot at the top of the grid this season, and he's the Pole Position trophy winner. Thrilling stuff. Behind Rosberg the gaps stayed smaller, Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari a little more than a tenth behind Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo in the Infiniti Red Bull Racing less than four one-hundredths behind Vettel. We feel almost as vexed watching Kimi Raikkonen as he feels driving – he's finally got a good Ferrari, now he can't get a good weekend. The front wing broke on his car in Free Practice 1, then a water leak in Free Practice 3 robbed him of setup time on the soft tire. He lines up in fifth about two tenths behind Ricciardo. The slow, tight Hungaroring didn't agree with the Williams chassis, Valtteri Bottas the first of the Grove team drivers in sixth, his teammate Felipe Massa two places back. Between them is Daniil Kvyat in the second Red Bull in seventh. Teenager Max Verstappen put in a good showing in the Toro Rosso to grab ninth, while Romain Grosjean in a wriggling, squishy, sliding Lotus classified his appearance in Q3 at all as "a miracle." As for the race that followed, we don't expect to see another like it for a long time – it was the real thrilling stuff, one shock after another. The drama began after the first parade lap, when Felipe Massa lined up out of position and the start was aborted. The drivers did another parade lap, then lined up with everyone in place. Mercedes got swamped as soon as the lights went out. Vettel ran around both of them and led the race into the first turn, Raikkonen had come from fifth to third by Turn 1, then got the inside line on Rosberg through Turn 2 to take second place.

Gordon Murray's flat-pack truck is a long way from the McLaren F1

A team of crack British automotive engineers went out to the shed and put together a new vehicle that promises to be the envy of IKEA store managers the world over – a flat-pack truck. According to The Telegraph, two prototypes of a plucky little truck called The Ox were unveiled at an event at the Roundhouse, a performing arts and concert venue in London's Chalk Farm neighborhood on September 6. The event was organized by the Global Vehicle Trust, a charity founded by Sir Torquil Norman to address transportation-related issues in the developing world. Designed by a distinguished team of British automotive engineers, including famed engineer and father of the McLaren F1 Gordon Murray, the Ox is a barebones transporter with a simple, three-position cab, a sturdy chassis, and a surprisingly spacious cargo area. Powered by a small diesel mill out of a Ford Transit, the Ox can carry just over two tons of cargo or up to thirteen passengers in its versatile covered cargo bay. While it is only rear-wheel drive, the Ox was designed to tackle the kinds of rough terrain found in the developing world. It is also, as claimed by the design team, rugged, easy to maintain, and built to thrive in areas where parts and dealer support are a rarity. The Ox's biggest selling point is that it can be packaged and shipped in a crate and assembled at its destination without a workshop. An entire truck can be assembled by three people in just under 12 hours. All the tools necessary for its construction, about forty different wrenches and a single Allen key, are included in the kit. It remains to be seen whether the Ox can make inroads in places like rural Africa or Southeast Asia where second-hand Toyotas and Chinese vehicles currently rule. The designers have high hopes for it however, and with its ease of use and rugged, versatile design The Ox may very well find some success carting people and cargo throughout the world's developing rural areas. Related Video: News Source: The Telegraph Auto News Design/Style Weird Car News McLaren Truck Videos Gordon Murray ikea