Honda breakthrough or another mirage...

Honda had a great deal of issues last year and came nowhere close to what they claimed. But my understanding was that between the myriad of other 'small' issues they knew their fundamental problems.
They knew from day one of 2015 that the season would be a write off, so it is not the biggest surprise that even a reliable Honda towards end of 2015 was way below what they knew the could achieve. It was no secret that they had massive ERS issues.
I would be surprised if they wouldn't be 'up there' in the same league of power as the others are in 2016. If they find enough to be competitive is another question. If they find enough to be reliable, too, is yet another question.

So, yes, Finding somewhere of about 200 hp extra is expected from my arm chair perspective.

 

Their issues was partly to do with Mclaren's extremely tight packaging, which meant they couldn't cool anything properly. Their ERS overheated like crazy too...They had spikes of decent power but that was all gone too soon. Getting the 220hp on the dyno is one thing.

Worryingly, Mclaren insists that their tight packaging is the way to go. Their car looked a pig to drive anywhere, low speed corners, high speed (= pure aero work, something a tight rear end would show it's strength) and obviously the straights...

So will Mclaren comply? One would think they would...

 

I seem to remember that both Button and Alonso said they were very happy with the car's handling. Unless they were being less than frank that was not an issue, lack of power and reliability were the things that needed to be sorted out. Hopefully they will have gone at least some of the way to doing that before the season begins.

 

It looked nigh on undrivable at some points during the year.

 

+1

Looked terrible on occasion. And not all down to a lack of power, which traditionally should make it easier to drive too......

I'm not 'convinced' by that article either; The #'s being spouted are too 'precise' for my liking. They needed to find '163 HP'. They've actually found 223..... Really? Damn, even identical engines can vary by at least a handful of HP......

Obviously, I dunno these guys sources, but, to me at least, that's just someone inventing #'s..... There's no way Honda would announce such 'exact' figures. Particularly at this point. I'd be happier if it said something like 'we believe we've found about 200 & also overcome our ERS issues'.

Something doesn't ring true...... Fer sure, Peter Prodromou's influence should be a positive for them, but I'm not convinced by that story.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Can't McHonda keep it quiet until progress actually materializes on the track? How many times did the Honda mouth piece promise Renault and then Ferrari engine levels? Its like the
Boy Who Cried Walter Wolf.

 

I hope the rumor mill is right. Would make for a great season.

 

The difference in air density from 32dF to 100dF changes a F1 engine output by about 100 HP anyways.

 

Didn't realize it was that much, but yeah, I'm wondering if they're freezing their dyno room!?

Cheers,
Ian

 

Not to mention that an increase of 220hp means that the handling will be different. Imagine accelerating out of a corner with that much extra power under foot. Plus, that sort of increase is unbelievable. They could not have been so incompetent in 2015 or so clever in 2016..

 

The Mac chassis with the Merc engine was not even close to competitive. They need work on all fronts.

 

Come February testing all will be revealed. Another source touting Honda's advances.

Honda's 'major breakthrough' with 2016 power unit - F1i.com

 

Tghe chassis was so good that jenson said he was afraid to drive the car in one of tthe races!!!!, lololo

 

Reports coming out of AS in Spain seem just a bit fishy. Let me think for just a second...is there anybody in Spain that might be stoking the Honda/McLaren rumor mill?

 

I hope they did make gains; I want to see lots of cars battling out front.

 

+1. Sure.

The more there are in with a reasonable chance of least getting on the podium the better. I'm just not convinced by these stories.

I remember those comments too..... Give him more power & he'll be terrified!

Cheers,
Ian

 

The true mark of a great chassis is being ****ING afraid of it

 

That's an awfully specific figure, way to specific. If Honda or Mclaren leaked anything, I suspect it to be the status quo of formula 1 team leaks i.e. very vague. I call foul

 

I hope they are better. The racing since we went to V-6 engines is downright boring.

 

The credibility of that source is zero.

But I'm pretty sure that Honda will be a lot better in 2016. Under these rules if you don't get it right from the beginning you end the season looking dumber than what you really are. The chassis is good, their cornering speeds were competitive despite running with less wing. I think they'll get some wins this season.

 

My feeling too....

A bold prediction indeed!

I reckon they may get a podium or two, which would be huge progress of course, but wins? I think not...... Wanna have a little wager? [Last time I did this it cost me, but at least Isobel enjoyed the wine! ]

Cheers,
Ian

 

I may have figured this out. I heard elsewhere that Honda completely rearranged the ERS system which will finally allow for full deployment, which has been conjectured on most systems to be about 163bhp. Additionally, this means the turbo can spool up at 100% as well which is supposed to be worth about 60bhp, hence the 223bhp figure being tossed around.

If they are now able to yield 100% from both sources of power, Honda will still require quite a bit of time to get the mapping correct as they've done exactly zero running at 100% power due to overheating. I hope for their sake that they get behind it quick. I predict they'll do much better, but not until the hit Europe's circuits.

 

confirmed by Andrew Benson @andrewbensonf1 twitter

"Re report of 223bhp power increase, Honda say they "don't know where that number came from" and "don't know yet" what improvement will be



Which, interestingly and for what it's worth, is not actually a denial. They did point out that 223bhp is a rather large leap, however"

 

Very sensible reply from Honda.