Honda: We didn't imagine F1 return would be this hard

[John S]

Regs so complicated small part swaps trigger domino effects. says Honda R&D's Chief Officer of Motorsport, Yasuhisa Arai.

He continues, "We are aware that it is late to be competitive, but we're working like crazy to try to recover. The most important area for us to concentrate on is the combustion. Current regulations require high efficiency of the combustion so we want to change the characteristic with the chamber design and intake and exhaust system layout. Another issue we will be addressing is reducing mechanical friction by changing the gear train system along with the combustion."

"Not all of our upgrades will be in place for the Belgium Grand Prix; some parts will be applied for Spa and the rest during the weeks that follow. Our plan is to keep improving race-by-race for the remainder of the season.

Asked which area of the technology is not what Honda expected, he admits: "The current regulations of the whole power unit package are very complicated so one small component triggers a domino effect of other items leading to the issues that we have been seeing.

"Let me put this concept of the domino effect into a technical example: if you try to harvest energy using the MGU-H, it puts a strenuous workload on the turbo. When the turbo is under stress, it cannot do what it is supposed to do, which is to force more air into the engine, thus leading to decreased power output. This is the result of one component working against the others, instead of working together.

They are set to us three tokens on their next upgrade for the Belgian GP, leaving them with four to play with later in the season, according to an unnamed Honda engineer.

"We hope to gain 15 horse power from the changes," he admitted, rubbishing claims it could be worth as much as 50hp. "A small step in the long chase of Mercedes.

"Before the end of the season we also hope to take advantage of the other four tokens that will remain [after this upgrade]," they told Omnicorse.

[lkjohnson1950]

According to Fernando, the chassis is quite good and he expects Honda to continue to improve. Makes the job Merc did with theirs look all the more impressive.

[Steve A.]

Fingers crossed for more improvements in the results. I really surprised Honda have been caught out so badly.

[Scott]

Honda should throw out the rule book and accept all penalties that come from that.  Go back to Japan, build a king-maker of an engine, test the heck out of it and the car everywhere they can, tokens and testing bans be damned.  Take the 20 place grid penalties and pay the fines.  Who cares when they start winning races from the back and taking all the TV time.

[cosworth151]

this is pretty much what I expected from Honda. Their last F1 effort produced one win in ten years of trying. Their IndyCar engine rarely is competitive with Chevy.

Combine that with the current "no testing" rules and it's been a program doomed from the start.

[lkjohnson1950]

Don't tell Graham Rahal his Honda isn't competitive. He's got 2 wins and like 4 podiums in 5 races and is only 9 points back of JPM. He says in qualifying trim the Chevvies make much more power, but the Honda balance of power vs economy makes it solid in the race.

[Willy]

baby steps are required.
They have a history in the sport so know what it takes and will get there it just takes time and belief in their ability.

[Steve A.]

baby steps are required.
They have a history in the sport so know what it takes and will get there it just takes time and belief in their ability.

Very true,  but I honestly thought their ability would have yielded a better power unit to start with, knowing they could not developed much during the season.

[John S]

Very true,  but I honestly thought their ability would have yielded a better power unit to start with, knowing they could not developed much during the season.

From what Arai san is saying I'm not sure it's the Power Unit per se that's the real problem. Rather it's the integration of all the elements - and presumably the control ECU - to effectively use engine/mguK/mguH in harmony, especially at the higher end of the range. I guess this is a problem they have not had to face before in any kind of competitive situation.

I think to a smaller extent Merc has made the kind of step that the Cosworth DFV made in F1, from memory most other engine makers spent a good few years catching up to the Ford Cosworth crew. 

[lkjohnson1950]

The Cosworth was a step up on many fronts. Although Climax had a 4 valve version of their 1.5 liter V8, the Cosworth was designed to optimize this design. It was highly over square to allow maximum valve area with a very narrow angle between the intake and exhaust valves. It was cross flow and had very compact combustion chambers for rapid and complete burn. By design and maybe a pinch of luck, it hit the sweet spot in almost every area.

[Jericoke]

Honda should throw out the rule book and accept all penalties that come from that.  Go back to Japan, build a king-maker of an engine, test the heck out of it and the car everywhere they can, tokens and testing bans be damned.  Take the 20 place grid penalties and pay the fines.  Who cares when they start winning races from the back and taking all the TV time.

No kidding.  What is the FIA going to do, kick Honda out of the sport?  (Although I'm sure they'd love to fine McLaren back to the stone age)

[Alianora La Canta]

Honda should throw out the rule book and accept all penalties that come from that.  Go back to Japan, build a king-maker of an engine, test the heck out of it and the car everywhere they can, tokens and testing bans be damned.  Take the 20 place grid penalties and pay the fines.  Who cares when they start winning races from the back and taking all the TV time.

This would only work if Honda was OK with itself and Honda being banned from 2016 onwards.