hemichromis wrote:If Honda are planning on carrying out a layout change why would they not go for the Mercedes model?
Engineering a shaft that long which can rev safely to 125,000 rpm repeatedly in the heat/vibration/G-loading environment of an F1 engine with the compressor at one end and the turbine at the other, with an MGU-H and probably clutching in the middle without whirl is not an easy task. It might not be possible in the time Honda have (or have had) with the engineering resources available to them. There are resonance/damping/vibration/critical speed which are harder to solve than iterative solving to get a working solution can cope with in a sensible timeframe.
Of course this is only part of the issue. It would also mean a total revision of the McLaren approach to chassis design in order to accommodate not only a front-mounted compressor but also the assorted cooling and intercooling solutions.
I'm not saying they can't do it, or that they won't. I just think that with the time and resources they have, it's an unlikely thing to try for next year.
In my opinion, F1's PU era isn't just about building excellent PUs - it's also about building a responsive PU design and development organisation.
Honda were up against teams that have had these bleeding-edge development teams for decades - organisations that can cope with the demands of F1 and rapidly moving technological change - so it's not a big surprise that they are struggling now.