Hasegawa quotes from Autosport plus
It's hard, very hard, it 's hard to express how hard it is. I am enormously disappointed . " Yusuke Hasegawa recognizes the extent to which Honda lives immersed in a huge nightmare and under a brutal pressure, more accentuated since the last GP of Australia . The Japanese engineer and his team face a few weeks that will be crucial for Honda and McLaren .
"It must be said that our engine is 10 kilos lighter and the center of gravity is one centimeter lower, it is incredible for Formula 1, " Hasegawa acknowledges in the British publication Autosport, where he carries out a professional honesty exercise to explain the causes Techniques of the unexpected setback on the evolution of 2016. "I have to be proud of this, but I can not. From this point of view, we have not taken a step back, but everyone sees it like this, "explains the Japanese coach, for whom" we have achieved the same level of performance and power with a smaller and lighter engine. " In theory, numbers were inviting to optimism. So what has failed?
A serious mistake of trust
"We thought it was going to be easy, but it's too difficult with this new technology," Hasegawa explained, "it was my mistake," the Japanese coach honestly acknowledges, "we had made good progress [in the lab] with a single cylinder, but As soon as we mounted the V6 we had many problems . " The greater the great vibrations of the engine, in addition to a complicated delivery of power. The riders must play with the accelerator to get them on, also raising the foot exaggerated by the consumption in the race.
Honda began detecting problems when the specification of the experimental cylinder was transferred to the complete architecture of the six cylinders. "But it was very late when we realized it, at Christmas." The vibrations had not occurred on the test bench, but the surprise came "when we installed the gearbox, shafts and tires, there are resonances."
"Since January, we've been trying to analyze the difference between the mono cylinder and the V6," Hasegawa explains, for whom the weaknesses of his power unit are "the rigidity of the engine itself (also influenced by the higher current G forces and new tires) , The difference in air flow, and the biggest factor is the influence of each cylinder on the rest . If you introduce a lot of fuel into the third cylinder, you lose somewhere else. Theoretically, the exhaust pressure has more influence on a four-cylinder engine than on one of three, technically speaking. We did not think there would be such a big difference between a single cylinder and six, but it affects a lot. " In short, a serious miscalculation that Hasegawa and his team did not anticipate, again underestimating the complexity of hybrid technology.
What counts for one, has to count for six
The head of Honda recognizes that "we are working very hard on Sakura , we are trying everything we can. We have achieved a good level of performance with the single cylinder, we now have to transfer it to the V6. We have good numbers (with the single cylinder), although we have to improve it, we are confident we can reach that level. " But to what extent there is room for maneuver is to be seen, because "we can change the intake or exhaust system, but not the entire engine interior. We do not have time to change everything , and I do not think it's necessary to change everything . If we find a good solution we can upgrade the engine for the fifth or sixth test, " referring to the version that would appear in Russia or Spain.
"I try to react to the depression that the team and the drivers suffer if there is any way, but it's not easy," he explains sympathetically about the impact of Honda's involution. "It's a huge job to evolve engines, so we have to live With the situation for some weeks. If we find the way, as soon as we do, all will be well. " Although many promises have been heard since Honda.
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