Yusuke Hasegawa: "Honda will be stronger in 2018"
- Published on 29 Jun 2017 11:02
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Honda chief Yusuke Hasegawa has said that Honda will be much stronger in 2018 after its 2017 season has not been going according to plan. Before the season started, Honda announced that it was majorly re-designing the 2017 power unit after making some steady progress in 2016.
The power unit for this year has proven both under the pace of its rivals and heavily unreliable. The relationship between Honda and McLaren looks on the verge of collapsing, but Hasegawa believes that the Japanese manufacturer will have a much more satisfactory unit in 2018.
"We thought that in Baku, as we are so far behind and with the circuit characteristics, it would be difficult to score points," Hasegawa told Speed Week. "So we used specification 2 and saved the new version for Fernando (Alonso) for Austria.
As for the suggestions of a 30hp boost, Hasegawa answered: "It is in the right direction, although not enough to reach the level of the other engine manufacturers. But things are getting better at Honda. We will be stronger in 2018."
Speculation continues onto whether or not McLaren will split from Honda at the end of the season. Honda has already secured its place on the 2018 grid, supplying power units to Sauber who currently run with year old Ferrari power.
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (5)
Login to replyRindtchamp
Posts: 304
yeah yeah man sure it will be... didn't you say that last year too?
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
And 2015!
F1todayfan101
Posts: 120
Show us, don't tell us.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I suspect we'll see a pattern similar to what we saw in 2015-2016: a very disappointing year followed by a more stable one. I just hope they will be competitive next year, Im sure they have the capacity for it, they just need to up their game. Meanwhile, I look forward to see what the spec 4 will bring to the table.
Kevin
Posts: 5,350
It is currently rumoured McLaren plans on finishing this season with a Mercedes engine. Using the post-Hungary test to implement it.
I doubt it's true. But wanted to share it anyway.