Honda suspects different problems for two engine failures
Honda believes the problem Brendon Hartley had in France is different to Pierre Gasly’s in Canada, as it prepares to analyse a second failure for its upgraded Formula 1 engine.
The Japanese manufacturer was expecting to be able to start investigating Hartley’s replaced engine at its Sakura facility on Tuesday.
Toro Rosso and Honda sent the engine back to Japan after Hartley was forced to stop in Friday practice.
It comes two weeks after Gasly suffered a problem in Canada, where Honda introduced its new F1 engine specification that is based mainly around the combustion engine.
Honda’s F1 technical director Toyoharu Tanabe told Motorsport.com: “We couldn’t tell anything specific from our inspection here, we needed to wait.
“We will start analysing from Tuesday in Japan. The countermeasure depends on the type of the failure – quality, or spec.
“We need to have a report from our base inspection, then we can understand how long it will take, or how difficult.
“We had two issues but it looks like they are slightly different. I cannot tell you if different is better, or if different is bad for us.
“But we need to find the root cause of this weekend’s failure and try to fix it for the future.”
Hartley’s engine problem in France condemned him to a back-of-the-grid start and a difficult race, while team-mate Gasly retired on the first lap as Honda endured a “difficult and disappointing weekend”.
Despite the second reliability concern in two race weekends Honda has been buoyed by the performance of its upgrade in Canada, which played a crucial role in convincing Red Bull to switch to its engines for 2019.
Gasly reported after qualifying that the new engine had not felt as potent in France and added that reliability is “still a bit of a question mark” having run the old spec in practice.
“I would have rather have full beans, maximum performance [all the time,” he said when asked by Autosport/Motorsport.com about reliability.
“We still need to do a lot of races with that engine, that’s why we decided to save the mileage on Friday.”
Tanabe said performance and reliability would remain equally important for Honda as it works on its final planned upgrade for this season before turning its attention to the 2019 specification.
Share Or Save This Story
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Toyota drivers predict faster lap times and “plenty of fighting” ahead at Le Mans
WEC Sao Paulo: Toyota dominates to defeat Porsche
WEC Sao Paulo: Toyota dominates second practice with 1-2
The changing fortunes of F1's drivers with a point to prove
Why Arvid Lindblad’s Montreal setback masked another statement weekend
“This is a serious matter” – why the FIA just fined Racing Bulls €30,000
The difference between Mercedes' and McLaren’s gearboxes and why it matters
James Vowles reveals Williams timeline to return to F1 championship contention
Moto2 points leader Manu Gonzalez knocking on Trackhouse's door for 2027 MotoGP seat
Formula 2 and Formula 3 reveal new logos mid-season
On this day: Jaguar signing Newey sparks legal row
Great Debate: What should the next F1 ruleset look like?
How Aston Martin is navigating its issues, as Honda plots ADUO updates
The changing fortunes of F1's drivers with a point to prove
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments