TyreSlip wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 22:57
FNTC wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 22:16
Will take alot to get into q2, fighting with haas, Williams, audi for it.
Also rain expected tomorrow so who knows what kind of setups they are running.
Edit: yeah, 19 and 21...
1.8 second gap with this power deficit is actually impressive.
They are definitely improving the integration. Zero updates and the gap has shrunk from 4s to 2s to the leader in qualifying.
Something to do with the gearbox is exacerbating Honda's deficits, specifically on the regen side. That much has been hinted at by several team reps now. That the downshifting and how it is done in this era is drastically different "for several reasons and will be a problem for us for some time" (Krack).
The engine still sounds terrible on the onboards. Horrendous vibration noise ever present. Was curious if the integration work at Sakura was going to improve it, but not even slightly. I was cautiously optimistic after Sprint Quali. But the race and main quali was depressing. Stroll's deficit to Alonso in every session is also outrageous. And I have serious concerns his general demeanor and "non-specific, overly generalised feedback" won't be helping anyone at the team, who then also won't say a thing about it without causing issues with the boss... I fear it'd be a shockingly restrictive, overly cautious environment for the staff unfortunately.
It's likely the bulk of the improvements have been made and it won't be till post Spa we see any slight change at all now. All the while Cadillac, are making noticeable steps forward every single weekend which is actually nice to see..