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I read an article that said even if McLaren replaced their Honda pu's now, it would take until at least Spain before they actually got the engine to fit. It would possibly require a new chassis (new FIA crash test); cooling system, suspension pick up points, wire loom, ECU replacement (which apparently is under most cars' fuel cells and very difficult to replace) and on and on. Looking like 2017 is another write-off year for the once mighty McLaren.
I read an article that said even if McLaren replaced their Honda pu's now, it would take until at least Spain before they actually got the engine to fit. It would possibly require a new chassis (new FIA crash test); cooling system, suspension pick up points, wire loom, ECU replacement (which apparently is under most cars' fuel cells and very difficult to replace) and on and on. Looking like 2017 is another write-off year for the once mighty McLaren.
He's certainly got the engineering chops to take on other roles than that of just a driver.....
+1 What I've read and heard from Rosberg is he's a fairly technical/development driver and provided good feedback to the Williams and MB engineers.
Originally Posted by Chief F1 Fan
I read an article that said even if McLaren replaced their Honda pu's now, it would take until at least Spain before they actually got the engine to fit. It would possibly require a new chassis (new FIA crash test); cooling system, suspension pick up points, wire loom, ECU replacement (which apparently is under most cars' fuel cells and very difficult to replace) and on and on. Looking like 2017 is another write-off year for the once mighty McLaren.
IDK, but I would guess at least July and perhaps August for getting a new McLaren car considering all the immense complexities of the PU with the batteries, electronics, cooling systems (even the batteries like most consumer hybrids have cooling systems). the two KER units (H & R),
So here is the NBC schedule for this coming weekend.
FP1 - Thursday 9PM on WatchNBC App or WebSite
FP2 - Friday 1AM on NBCSports
FP3 - Friday 11PM on WatchNBC App or WebSite
Qual - Saturday 2AM on NBCSports
GP - Sunday 12AM on NBCSports
I am kind of bummed that they won't be covering the entire weekend on NBC sports for the first race weekend of the season. I will be out of town though so I will be doing most of my watching on my tablet anyways.
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso says he’s braced for a “difficult weekend” in Australia, despite Honda saying they are now ‘heading in the right direction’ with their F1 power unit.
Alonso completed just 190 laps in pre-season testing in Barcelona - the fewest of any driver who will be on the grid in Melbourne - with McLaren’s running heavily restricted by poor power unit reliability.
Honda have spent the intervening period working on solutions to solve the issues experienced, but Alonso isn’t expecting a dramatic turnaround in the team’s fortunes for the first race of the year.
“After a difficult two weeks of testing we’re prepared to face a difficult weekend in Melbourne,” said the 32-time Grand Prix winner.
“We’ll do our best with what we have and there’s a lot of hard work and collaboration happening within the team, but the lack of time before the first race means you have fewer options for big changes.
“The first step will be to work on reliability before we can make any assumptions or predictions about performance, and we will try to enjoy the weekend as much as we can.”
As well as addressing reliability issues, Honda have also looked to improve driveability with their unit – the other major concern ahead of the new season.
“In terms of performance, there has been room for improvement with mapping in order to have better driveability, and with further analysis we were able to make additional changes to be ready for Melbourne,” said Honda’s F1 chief Yusuke Hasegawa.
“We know we are heading in the right direction and we’ll continue our efforts in order to increase our competitiveness throughout the season.
“Our priority for the weekend will be to extract the most out of our power unit, while maintaining reliability.”
Racing director Eric Boullier said the Melbourne weekend would provide a good barometer for where the team lies versus the opposition, but stopped short of making any performance predictions.
“As a team, we’re very excited to be going racing again, but aware of the unknowns that face us as the lights go out to start a new era of Formula One,” he said.
“We don’t yet know where the formbook lies, so until we hit the track on Friday morning it’s impossible to predict how the weekend will unfold.
“It’ll be interesting for us all to see the pecking order emerge as each session goes by, as well as where our own strengths and weaknesses lie, and we’re prepared for a challenging weekend ahead.
“We will approach this season race-by-race – for us Australia will be the benchmark by which we can understand where we are in relation to the rest of the field, and what we need to do to tackle the coming Grands Prix.
“We won’t make any promises or predictions about our performance or results, but McLaren and Honda will continue to worth together in partnership and maximise everything we have in our package.”
McLaren got one car to the finish in Australia last year, with Jenson Button finishing 14th. Alonso retired after 16 laps.
I can't believe the level of non-achievement Honda have attained since re-entering the sport.
+1, it's embarrassing to watch Honda in their current form.
In the 80's Soichiro Honda directed Takeo Fukui (Honda's F1 racing director in the 80's) to strictly focus on continuous incremental improvement to their engine program and to avoid any leapfrog development.
Fukui was given a lot of leeway with hand picking his engineers (mostly younger) and time to revamp their F2 engine program into F1 requirements.
Fukui was also instructed to call the old man at home no matter what time to deliver the race results, problems, and corrective actions.
In the later years Honda engine (2000-2008, 2015-2016) and total F1 car/engine (2006-2008) have only won one race and highest WCC is #4 (2006) in those two periods
That's really sad.
+1, it's embarrassing to watch Honda in their current form.
In the 80's Soichiro Honda directed Takeo Fukui (Honda's F1 racing director in the 80's) to strictly focus on continuous incremental improvement to their engine program and to avoid any leapfrog development.
Fukui was given a lot of leeway with hand picking his engineers (mostly younger) and time to revamp their F2 engine program into F1 requirements.
Fukui was also instructed to call the old man at home no matter what time to deliver the race results, problems, and corrective actions.
.....
Agree with Legend2TL.
Takeo Fukui has an extensive background in Honda motorsport racing, whereas the current Honda President/CEO Takanobu Ito has nil.
So it ain't of a surprise that in the present form, Honda still need some learning curve to overcome racing in F1 motorsport.
MBZ/Ferrari/RBR fighting it out would make for a good show.
Maybe we'll get some more RBR fights like last year in Barcelona That was an exciting lap or two.
If Ferrari could be the quickest by just a little, that would be perfect. I want REAL racing.
If its true and Ferrari and RBR are up there as well with Merc, this could make for a great season, As long as there doesnt become reliability issues with one of them.
Judging by FP2 times, Seb and Bottas are still 0.5 s back, while Kimi and Ricciardo are a full second off LCH's pace... Hopefully they'll close the gap in FP3 and Qualifying. We shall see....
03-16-2017, 09:21 AM
That was an exciting lap or two.
