17:13 – Honda is traveling with an improved power source to the first Formula 1 races of the postponed 2020 season. The Japanese engine supplier of Red Bull Racing, among others, has been able to continue working during the corona crisis and thus took an important blow.
Continue working in corona time
In times of corona, Formula 1 imposed multiple restrictions to cut costs. The factories of teams had to be locked and the same was true (for a slightly shorter period) for the accommodations of all engine manufacturers. However, there was an important “but” in this whole story, laid down in Article 21.10 of the Sporting Regulations. “An exception can be made for countries where laws and regulations require a different closing period. In that case, a few days from the mandatory shutdown may be moved to a different period of the year.”
Honda was very lucky that they were allowed to continue working in Sakura in Japan. As a result, the partner of Red Bull and AlphaTauri has decided to push through as much as possible in corona time and to plan the mandatory shutdown for the most part later this year. That may seem like a shift without significant benefits, but nothing could be further from the truth. The engine used by F1 teams during the first race in Austria is crucial for the rest of the season. The power source will remain largely intact in the following months. As part of the cost savings, teams are then only allowed to perform one ‘performance upgrade’ on the MGU-K, among others.
A step forward
The further development is curtailed, so that a later shutdown Honda and with it Red Bull will hardly hurt. Or to turn it around: working in corona time provides Honda and therefore Red Bull great benefits. For example, the Japanese brand is the only supplier to bring a major update to Spielberg for the delayed start of the season. The official Formula 1 website reports that it is a significant leap forward. Reportedly, the Japanese have been able to work on both performance and reliability with this update. The results of tests on the test bench would be encouraging.
During the winter tests in Barcelona, Honda foreman Masashi Yamamoto already expressed a lot of confidence in a title battle with Verstappen. “The balance we have found with our new engine between power and reliability is very good,” he said during an exclusive interview with GPUpdate.net. “We mainly used the winter months to maintain last year’s reliability and at the same time find a little more power. That was our full focus.” So that process continued in corona times, with reportedly once again promising results.
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