 With Honda pulling out of the sport, McLaren had to make do with customer Ford V8 engines which had inferior power compared to the V10 Renaults found in their chief rival Williams, and even the higher spec HBA8 Ford V8's used by Benetton.Because Benetton had a pre-existing contract as the Ford factory team, McLaren initially had to settle for a customer engine which lacked some of the technological advancements of Benetton's factory engine; McLaren did secure a supply of the higher spec Ford engines after the British Grand Prix.The customer spec Ford engine was only rated at around compared to the of the works Ford engine in the Benetton, and both were well down on the Renault used by Williams and the V12 Ferraris.