Honda is invested in performance enhancement for Red Bull.
Honda who was jacked up in Formula 1 with its contract with Red Bull this year. Red Bull had switched from Renault to Honda after it had tested the power plants through its second team Toro Rosso.
Honda has established itself this year with Max Verstappen. It has three grand prix victories, two pole positions and a complete season without any “did not finish”.
No reliability issues has established Honda status in Formula 1. It has helped the manufacturer to focus its efforts on extracting more and more from the engine.
Additionally, it will not divert the Japanese manufacturer’s efforts on putting out fires.
However, the manufacturer still needs to demonstrate its ability to complete the season penalty free. It has to minimize the engine upgrades within the regulations.
This year, Honda has established itself as a serious competitor to Mercedes and Ferrari but with few penalties. In haste to catch-up with top two teams, it had made more upgrades than authorized.
Honda and Red Bull partnership was established through Toro Rosso, which eventually led to a full time competitive package.
Red Bull’s experience and technical expertise and opinions has also helped Honda to prioritize its efforts on performance.
Toyoharu Tanabe, Honda Formula 1 technical director, spoke to media. He said: “I believe we have learned what is a priority for qualifying, or how to win the race.
“On the other hand, reliability is not perfect enough this year, but our reliability is getting much better since last year.
“It means we can develop positive items, not a countermeasure test or bench test.
“We spent a lot of time on something that was a clean-up test [before].
“Now we can put more time to improve our performance. Then we can think about the more detail with each area.”
Honda has set its targets in consultation with its client Red Bull. It has been advised by the team Chiefs and drivers. The suggestions were incorporated through the collaboration of its trackside team and Research and Development teams.
The Japanese manufacturer will keep “very similar” engine concept for next year. The decision is made in light of the regulations that will remain same during 2020.
